Touch of the Goddess
by Egyptian Kiss
Summary: As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter One**

Cadee Fallin was having the worst day of her life. It had all started out seemingly normal: her alarm clock blasted indie rock at top volume; her mother, Mia, had made her a vegan-friendly, egg substitute, western omelet; her brother, Daylin, teased her over his meat pile of bacon; and Jade, her two-month-old kitten, had sat in the window of their second floor apartment as she rushed out the door. All-in-all not the precursor to the day from Hell.

First, Cadee had gotten a flat on the way to school (not that she wasn't relatively competent at changing out a spare) but when she had gone to the trunk of her fourteen-year-old Ford Bronco, she found that the spare was missing. A vague memory had then drifted to the forefront about a conversation she had had a couple nights back with Daylin after he had gotten back from his night classes at the local community college – apparently he'd been in an accident and his jeep needed a spare. The light bulb clicked on in realization and Cadee had been twenty minutes late to an important Geometry exam because she had to wait for AAA.

Then, as if a flat and a stressful math test wasn't enough, Cadee had gotten halfway to her locker before remembering that she had forgotten her violin – again. Not once, not twice, but three times this week she had managed to misplace her most prized possession. She had the inkling that she would probably find it in her bathroom – where she had leaned it against the wall as a reminder as she washed up this morning. Mr. Bolin, a stout, thickly mustached, fuss bucket (aka her music teacher) had been less than thrilled by her sudden forgetfulness and instead of allowing Cadee to take up a spare instrument he had assigned her Saturday detention "to motivate" Cadee into remembering what it meant to be first chair in his orchestra.

Now after all that Cadee had been fairly certain her day couldn't get much worse – right? The Universe was not plotting some big conspiracy to ruin her life as she knew it. Right? Well just to reinforce the fact her life was taking a turn for the worst, the powers-that-be had cooked up something extra special. Her boyfriend Troy, a punk rock demigod with anarchical ideas and an anti-PC comedic streak, had decided today was the day they were over. No, he didn't confront her in the hallway at school and made a big scene. No, he didn't call her and give a long drawn out reason why their two-year, pre-high school to high school relationship was no longer working for him. No, he didn't send her a text to meet up for coffee after school (like always) for an easy let down. King Shit had dropped a note in her locker before lunch that read "Sorry Cadee I'm over it. Thanks for the memories – T." It wasn't bad enough he had left her a note to demolish her heart, he had to cite a Fall Out Boy song to do it?

The fantastic capper to her pre-lunch day made Cadee want to cry and to sigh at the same time. Life wasn't fair. It never had been and Cadee had learned that in elementary school when her dad had left them and made Daylin, four years her senior, the man of the house. Or the time that they were evicted from their beachfront home and jettisoned into the lower-middleclass, getting by on her mom's feeble paychecks from her secretarial job at First Bank in downtown San Fran.

But all this in one day? What else could go wrong?

Fighting off tears, Cadee crumpled up the break-up note and tossed it over her shoulder. She grabbed her brown bagged lunch, hoisted her backpack up on her shoulder, and slammed her locker shut before stalking down to the cafeteria. No, life wasn't fair, but today just plain sucked.

When she walked in, Cadee saw her usual group of friends sitting at the round table near the salad bar. Jenny, the nerdy, math genius who led the school's debate team. Loree, the perky, Chem. geek with horn-rimmed glasses and Nancy Drew deduction skills. George, the drummer for a garage band that was going no-where-and-fast. Perry, the aspiring-pro-skateboarder and second-in-command to Troy. Gina, the snobby Goth with lavender hair, an eyebrow ring and a penchant for poetry. And then there was Troy. He sat at the table probably spouting off some mildly philosophical, melodramatic, anti-government rant that was inspired by his early morning Ethics class.

Looking at them from afar, Cadee realized that she didn't want to go anywhere near them. She couldn't sit there surrounded by familiar faces and pretend that nothing had changed, or that she was cool with Troy when all she wanted to do was smack him across the face and shove a fist down his throat.

But I'm too nice for that, Cadee thought caustically. Out of everyone in the group, Cadee had been labeled the nice one. The one who would do anything for anyone without a thought; whenever any one of them wanted a favor, they turned to Cadee. She was too nice to say no. She was too nice to think about not helping. Too nice to tell them off. Too nice to admit it urked her like no other that she was always there for them and they were always mysteriously absent when she needed some support.

Turning her back to them was physical and metaphorical – she was done. Eyes searching the crowd, Cadee assessed her options. There was the popular table led by Alek Petrov and the basketball jocks. So not an option. Everyone knew that to sit at that table you had to have a golden ticket aka pom poms or a team jersey. Next was the fringe table, kids who virtually blended in with the cream colored brick walls and were swallowed up by the shadows. Possible but not exactly comfortable – a little too bland. Then came the music table, kids in either orchestra or band who retained an active role in school games and concerts. Also possible, but not totally appealing. Cadee spent enough time with them in class and performing to know how perverted and caddy most of their conversations were. Then came the Goth/Punk/Emo/Pained group, run by Miranda Jones (self-proclaimed Goth queen). Anyone with a healthy self-image, timorous personality, or natural hair color need not apply. Moving along, there was were the anime fanatics. Anyone not into graphic novels keep on moving.

Sighing, Cadee finally spotted a table. Three people sat together laughing, chatting, and looking seemingly normal. She recognized one of them as Amy. Amy was a pretty, petit, brunette who spoke too-fast, smiled a lot, and sang like an angel. They had taken choir together in middle school and were in the same section. It had been a couple years since she had spoken to her, but what did she have to lose?

"Can I sit here?" Cadee asked, having approached the table with mild caution but her best friendly smile.

A copper blond with big green eyes, a short Asian dude with a comic tee-shirt, and Amy all turned to stare up at her. They seemed just as startled by her sudden appearance as Cadee's fluttering stomach was.

"Sure," said the blond before Amy could reply. "I'm Chloe King. It's nice to meet you. This is Paul and this is –"

"Amy. Yeah, I know. We used to be in choir together way back in the day," Cadee said, taking a seat next to Amy and Chloe and across from Paul. "I'm Cadee Fallin."

"Oh my God, Cadee! It's been forever. You look so different! In a good way," Amy rushed to explain. She still talked a little too quickly. "I mean, you used to have braces and glasses and such long hair. You look great."

Blushing under the attention, Cadee laughed nervously, pulling out her apricot, almond salad and green tea. The braces had been off for almost a year and a half, her hair had been chopped off at the shoulder in wavy, silvery blond layers, and her big purple glasses had been traded in for a set of stellar green contacts that enhanced her natural eye color almost right after eighth grade graduation.

"Thanks. You look great too. Still making your own outfits?" Cadee asked while Chloe and Paul chattered on about some cat woman comic book plot line.

Shaking her head enthusiastically, Amy smiled. Since they entered high school everyone had come to call her Crazy Amy because she was a little overly enthused about everything and her taste in clothes ranged from fashion forward to eighties throw-back, more on the former than the latter. Cadee sometimes hated high school because people like Amy who were already developing a unique personality were usually put down because they strayed from the pack.

"I just got this really great offer to help in the costuming department for the next school production. I think they're doing Grease. It's going to kill."

Chloe broke off her pseudo argument with Paul at that point to say, "Amy I still think you should be trying out for a part in the musical. You have the voice, the look, and the stage presence. Come on, hello, destiny calling."

"No way. I'm so not ready for that, Chloe! I mean, come on, I was barely able to commit to that open mic night at the coffee bar. Me and the stage equal no go," Amy said, shaking her head so hard her zebra stripped, pink beanie fell off.

"But you used to be in choir," Cadee interjected. "And you do have a voice, Amy. You should at least try out."

"Traitor. No way. Paul, boyfriend, tell them they're crazy," Amy said, turning to her apparent BF for support.

Paul raised a hand to scratch his head and smiled nervously, "I plead the fifth? Come on Amy its three chicks versus one guy."

"Chicks? Guy? You are my boyfriend. You're supposed to be on my side," Amy said, jerking to a stand, her face turning red and her lips turning down in a frown. "You know Paul, whatever. I have to be somewhere anyways." And with that, Amy stormed dramatically from the cafeteria with Paul jumping up to trail behind her like a chastised puppy. If that performance didn't deserve a spot on stage what does, Cadee wondered.

"Haha, sorry, Amy can be a little…dramatic. She'll get over it," Chloe said from the other side of the table, munching on a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"No worries. It's high school, I think that's kinda the point," Cadee said, shrugging it off even though a certain discomfort now hung in the air between them. Cadee thought again about Troy, the break up, her bad morning, and then came back to the present where she sat with someone who could easily be classified as a stranger.

"So…well, I hate to do this, but I kind of have this thing I promised to do for Paul so I got to go. It was really nice meeting you," Chloe said once she'd polished off her lunch and then made an exit stage left with an amicable finger wave.

After being left to finish her lunch alone, Cadee's day didn't get any better. She got back an English essay (C-) and managed to get her cell phone confiscated in Spanish class. Her backpack with the cute stars and the music notes caught in the door on her way out of her last class, AP Bio, and ripped down the side sending all of her stuff flying in all directions. A couple good citizens had helped her collect her stuff, jam it back into her bag and she had to hold it a certain way to stop everything from spilling out again in the afternoon melee of students pushing to get home.

Cadee got all the way to the parking lot before she remembered her car had been towed to Mick's garage downtown and she would have to hoof it all the way to her apartment – a good three and a half miles. Not that Cadee minded walking usually, but she wasn't exactly in the best mood.

As the streets passed, Cadee started to relax a little. The sound of the city alive and bustling was a warm comfort. Cadee had always liked living in San Francisco. She liked the beaches, the sunny weather, the cable cars, the boutiques, the kitschy coffee bars, the clubs, and the street performers. Everything seemed so full of possibilities when Cadee was out and about with the common folk.

Cadee cut across the street and was heading north when she heard the noise. At first it sounded like a couple of cats fighting, a hiss and some shuffling, but as she drew closer to the mouth of the alley, a thud, a metallic ring, and the sound of a muffled scream confirmed it wasn't just a couple of frisky kitties. Jerking to attention, Cadee stopped at the edge of the alley and peered down the long, narrow backstreet. Two black clad figures were sparring and a girl with long shiny hair lay sprawled out on the ground, blood dripping from her forehead. The two fighting figures looked like they were dancing – until Cadee saw the flash of a steel blade.

Not sure what to do, but definitely not willing to leave some poor girl defenseless, Cadee crept slowly and quietly down the alley. Her heart was drumming in her chest and she started to sweat when she knelt beside the girl. It was Chloe King. That girl from lunch – Amy's friend. Putting two fingers to Chloe's neck, Cadee found a heartbeat and a rush of relief made her sag a little before she realized that the two fighters were drawing closer as they fought from one end of the alley by a dumpster heading right for them.

"Chloe?" Cadee whispered softly, trying not to draw unnecessary attention to herself.

When Chloe didn't respond, Cadee took a deep breath, grabbed Chloe by the armpits and began pulling her dead weight down the alley, stumbling over a plank of wood from a broken crate. "Shit!" Cadee said, a little too loudly as she struggled to stay upright and not fall over.

One of the combatants spotted her over the other's shoulder and he smiled. He was dark skinned with yellowy eyes and pointed ears, a jagged scar along one side of his face. His smile looked razor sharp and an uncontainable chill swept down Cadee's spine. She saw him raise a hand and then he was throwing something. Cadee heard it whistling through the air and it was about to hit Chloe in the chest. Cadee screamed shrilly and shoved Chloe out of the way, twisting in a dive as she went in an attempt to avoid the throwing star.

Pain exploded in her left calf and her vision blurred when her head smacked violently against the asphalt, and Cadee blacked out for a second. Her mind went blank. When she came around, Cadee thought she was going to add vomit to the alleyway décor. Upchuck burned like acid in her chest, but she forced it down. When she rolled back over to see if Chloe was alright and where that scar-faced, star-throwing freak was, Cadee saw an empty alley. She was alone. Chloe wasn't there, the ninja dude who had been fighting the freak was gone, and the only thing remaining was the glinting metal star that had embedded in a crack in the black top. Forcing herself up to a stand, Cadee shook with the ebb of her adrenaline rush and the tofu berry bar she had eaten a couple blocks back was starting to come back to bite her.

Police sirens sounded in the distance, startling Cadee, and she hurriedly gathered her fallen backpack and rushed the rest of the way home. None of what happened made sense. Her hands were shaking violently when Cadee closed her bedroom door, and she collapsed on her bed to the sound of her empty house. Daylin had probably just gotten off work at the farmer's market near the community college and was getting ready for his night classes and her mom probably wouldn't be home until late because she said something about a business dinner with her boss. Business dinner was code word for date – or at least that is what Daylin kept insisting when Cadee brought it up.

The pale blue walls of her bedroom were a familiar comfort and her big bed welcomed her like a hug, helping to ease the tension in her back. A small meow brought Cadee's attention to Jade as her kitten jumped up on the bed and laid down on her chest. The weight of the small, fluffy, black and white kitten was reassuring in some way. It grounded Cadee's world back in reality. Jade's pretty green eyes and tilted head seemed to be asking her a question, but Cadee closed her own to avoid thinking. She felt sleep calling and slipped away, her body finally giving out to exhaustion.

_Light lapped in waves around her and Cadee winced against it. It hurt to look directly at anything, but a figure came through the blinding nothingness. It looked like a woman but not quite. Her eyes reminded Cadee of Jade's, her hands were clawed, and her facial structure was feline, almost lion-like. A mane of white blond hair fell in straight locks, and the smile on the woman's lips was catty. Nothing about this woman was normal. _

"_Where am I?" Cadee whispered, stepping back as the vibrations emanating from the woman grew as she drew closer. _

"_You are dreaming. I am visiting. My name is Baset. You may not know me because I have been lost to your kind for generations. But I know who you are Cadee. I know that you have never had a fair life. Nothing has come easy for you, Cadee. No one has seen how special you are. But I have been watching you for quite some time. You were not born one of mine, but today, you died," the woman said. Her voice was smooth like chocolate, whispery and sophisticated – it was utterly powerful, intoxicating…and terrifying. _

"_I died?" Cadee whispered, her insides turning cold as an icebox. _

"_Yes. But I have decided to change that. You were reborn today. No more nice Cadee. No more unfair life. From today on, no one gets to tell Cadee Fallin what to do. Do you know why I have bestowed you with this gift? This new life? This power?" _

_Cadee stayed silent, but she shook her head. _

"_Of course you don't. You never see all the good that you do. You saved my Uniter. My gift to my dying race of Mai. She would have lost another life if not for your bravery, your selflessness. She has nine lives to live and nine to endure – but she has already lost one. But that alone would not have saved you. I have been looking for an apprentice. I want to train you to embody me. I want to imbue you with my power. And Cadee, I want to see you make a difference. From this day forward, the life I have birthed you, you are the daughter of Baset, goddess of cat-kind, an elite race descend from the lions. You will do what is right. I know…" Baset gave her another more cunning I-got-the-canary smile, "..because I chose you." _

"_What are Mai? Who is the Uniter?" Goddess, really? Cadee didn't say the last part aloud, but Baset gave a tinkling laugh and her grin turned smug. _

"_Goddess – really . The Mai are my children, gifted with catlike grace, stronger, smarter, faster. But they have strayed from my original intentions for them. The Uniter, your Chloe King, is meant to help right that path. And now you, my Child, are going to set the example. Help her, if she needs it, but you are the example she should follow. You must never allow the Order to dictate your actions – no one has the right any longer." _

"_Chloe? But all I did was –"_

"_Save her life? Pull her from danger; push her out of the way of death? Go forth now, do as I say. I will nudge you in the right direction if you need it," Baset said as she retreated into the white waves of oceanic light. "And Cadee?" _

_Still humming with fear and uncertainty, Cadee froze unable to do anything but listen. _

"_Have fun." _

Coming awake with a start, Cadee flew up to a sit, dislodging a disgruntled Jade, and panted. Her breath was fast, her heart was pounding, and it took a moment to realize that it was dark outside her bedroom window. Her whole room was covered in shadows, but Cadee could see everything as if she had her ceiling light on. The part that left her breathless was when Cadee looked at her skin and realized she was covered in a golden glow. It slowly sank into her skin, turning her warm to the touch, and then faded. Her nails were claw like and her ears felt ultra-sensitive as she picked up the sound of a car door slamming.

A minute passed in darkness and silence as Cadee tried to shake free of her dream, and when she next glanced at her hands the claws were gone and her skin was normal. The smell of vegetarian, garden pizza wafted in from the kitchen, and Cadee realized how hungry she was – starved in fact.

"Cadee, dinner," her mom called, and Cadee flicked on her lamp light, wincing at the brightness before she stood up.

Obviously a nightmare was the cherry on her bad-day sundae. Sighing in defeat, Cadee left the sanctuary of her room, not noticing Jade's glowing, green eyes and the way her feline mouth was stretched into a kitty grin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Two**

Cadee tried to ignore her mother's incessant ranting over the bill for towing the car and replacing the flat as she poured soy milk over her cheerios. Daylin had already weighed in that he would cover the cost because it was technically his fault that the spare hadn't been in Cadee's trunk when she needed it, but it didn't stop their mom from insisting Cadee could have been more careful. Yeah, because I drove over glass intentionally, Cadee thought.

"All I'm saying is I would appreciate a little help around here. Making ends meet is hard enough on my salary let alone unnecessary expenses," Mia Fallin said. Braiding her dark hair in a tight, unforgiving braid, Mia sighed and her baby blues, that Daylin had obviously inherited, roved over Cadee in her usual black leggings and a flowy peasant top, and couldn't help but see Cadee's father in her. "Maybe you just aren't ready for the responsibility of having a car."

Cadee dropped her spoon at that and it clanked into her cereal dish. "Really, Mom? Come on I volunteer on weekends and I keep my grades up. You promised that if I kept it up I could keep the Bronco. Besides, it's an old car and Daylin was the one who took my spare."

"I know, but maybe sixteen is too young. It's only been five months since I let you take the Bronco and started car pooling with your brother and you are already costing me hundreds of dollars on it," she responded, pulling together the files that had been spread out on the table top.

Their apartment was small; close quarters compared to their old house. The kitchen, the dining room, and the living room were all one large open space, separated by furniture. They had three bedrooms, all on the tiny side, and usually Cadee enjoyed the homey feel of their apartment, but today the closeness was suffocating. What I wouldn't give for a wall between me and her right now, Cadee thought, looking at her mom.

"Give me a break, Mom. You should blame the person that littered, not me. I didn't anticipate running over broken glass. Please, Mom. Please," Cadee begged and she felt an internal tug that made her seal her lips. For some reason she couldn't say anything else to plead in her defense.

Her mom zipped up her satchel and Cadee noticed the extra oomph she put into zipping it shut. Turning to face her, Cadee's mom leveled her with a no-nonsense glare. "I think, for now, your driving privileges are suspended. If you hurry I can drop you off at school before I go to work. Your brother and I already discussed this before he left this morning and he took his car."

Cadee gritted her teeth in a rush of anger, and wanted to hiss out something biting, but this was her mom and she was already in enough trouble. Looking up, Cadee shrugged and tried to play it off, "Fine. I'll walk."

Shaking her head, Mia walked toward the front door. "Okay, have it your way. But throwing a hissy fit is no way to earn back your car."

Once the door was closed, Cadee slapped an open palm on the table and closed her eyes. After a few calming breaths, Cadee regained that inner-cool she was so famously known for. Her breakfast no longer appealing, Cadee cleaned her dish and grabbed her brother's hand-me-down black backpack; it had definitely seen better days, but Cadee didn't have much in the way of options in the money department.

The walk to school was easier than Cadee would have thought, in fact she had broken into a mild jog and amped it up into an all out run as she got closer to the school. Her body seemed to fly with the wind, her feet touching the ground in the lightest of touches, and her heart hummed with the sounds of morning traffic, the scent of coffee, and the throngs of commuting students just arriving.

As she turned the corner to her locker, Cadee saw Chloe King. Chloe was standing in the middle of the hallway, not talking to anyone, and she was smiling. When Cadee drew closer she noticed Alek approaching from the other direction and her heart stilled, skipping a beat, then two, and picked back up double time. He was one of the most adored and admired guys in school, and he was definitely one of the hottest. His dirty blond hair and handsome face made him a winner all around. Top Jock. Popular guy. And when his eyes met hers over Chloe's shoulder, Cadee registered shock on his face. He paused in his approach on Chloe and she too turned to glance at me. Her expression mirrored his and Cadee felt an unease welling up inside. Deciding now was not the moment to confront Chloe about the alley incident, Cadee backed up slowly and then slammed into something hard.

"Shit, Cadee, watch where you're walking," Troy said from behind her and Cadee closed her eyes against the urge to turn around and smack him.

She had dropped her bag, but her fists clenched angrily and her nostrils flared. She could smell his cologne and it made her anger sharper, more finely tuned. The sharp, painful poke of her fingernails made her snap out of it and she unclenched her fists and turned, dropping to the floor to grab her bag.

"What, are you not talking to me?" Troy asked as he grabbed up his binder. His dark brown eyes were narrowed on her and Cadee snapped.

"What gave you the idea I would want to talk to you? You were lame enough to break up with me in a note, which by the way, really? A note? With lame song lyrics? Pathetic. You had it right, we are over. I'm over it and you. Pathetic," Cadee said, jerking up to a stand with her bag in hand.

Troy looked startled. Like Cadee had used the foulest language known to man and it seemed to be a mind blowing concept that she had it in her. His expression was relish worthy. But then all good things must come to an end. His expression turned thunderous and he too stood, towering over her.

"Pathetic? Coming from the girl who lives on the poor side of town and barely hacks it as a half-assed violinist – that's a laugh. Why don't you run home to daddy and cry to him? Oh wait, he left," Troy said and Cadee felt like she'd been punched.

Troy had been the one boy Cadee had felt close enough to talk about her dad with. They had bonded over deadbeat dads because his was never home and could care less what Troy did. Looking into his mean face, Cadee felt tears pricking her eyes and she literally hissed at him. It came out fierce and sounded like a warning. Troy took a step back and Cadee's eyes zoned in on his sweaty brow and she could hear the rushing of his blood as his heart picked up.

"Why don't you and your two inch dick get out of my face," Cadee exploded, her voice ringing throughout the school hallway. Cadee's face immediately flamed at what she said, but she refused to the one to back down. Her heckles had been raised and she fought off another hiss as he backed up.

"Bitch," he called as he practically ran toward the cafeteria.

Hearing laughter, Cadee glanced around and noticed that the exchange had not gone unnoticed. Half the hallway was laughing as Troy departed and the other half was staring in stunned silence. With a glance in Chloe's direction, Cadee realized she was part of the stunned crowd and a look over her shoulder showed Alek was a part of the laughing crowd.

Gripping her backpack in both hands, Cadee headed to her class early and prayed for a black hole to open up and swallow her whole.

By the time lunch rolled around, Cadee had heard whispers in just about every class regarding her blow up with Troy in the hall earlier that morning. This time when she got to the cafeteria, Cadee was even more unsure where to sit then the day before. She noted that her old table, all of her friends, and Troy were staring at her – even Jenny, who had always been the closest to her – was glaring. Her eyes perused her options again and then she saw Amy, who was waving her down like a plane coming in for landing. Chloe was also looking expectantly in her direction, and Cadee resigned herself to another awkward lunch.

Paul and Amy were fused at the hip and Chloe was giving her a wan smile. Taking out her asparagus and hummus sandwich, Cadee smiled.

"Hi," Cadee said.

"Oh my God, Cadee! I heard what happened this morning. Are you okay?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, that guy sucks," Paul added, giving a new-friend-alliance glare in Troy's general direction.

"I'm fine. Thanks. He does suck," Cadee agreed.

"But you handled yourself at least," Chloe said, joining the conversation.

"Handled, embarrassed, yeah," Cadee said, giving a self-deprecating smile to Chloe. "I'm not really up for talking about it."

"That's cool. Hey, so I decided to go through with another open mic night at the coffee bar by Chloe's job. You should totally come. I need the support. If I do good, I'm trying out for the musical," Amy announced, her blathering a welcome distraction.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. You should come," Chloe said and Cadee glanced at Paul who was nodding enthusiastically after Amy had pinched his left bicep.

"Okay. Sure," Cadee said.

The rest of lunch went rather uneventfully. Cadee didn't mention yesterday to Chloe because it didn't seem like the time, but they made plans to meet up later that night for Amy's performance.

Cadee had pulled on a black vest top and black jeans, her make-up just the right amount of smoky, and she hurried to grab her old jean jacket with the black lace embellishment as she strode out of her apartment. Her mother had called to tell her she was having another "business dinner" and Daylin was guaranteed to be gone late with his classes. Cadee had to admit she felt a little badass for not telling her mom she was going out, but without a car Mia Fallin would forbid her from walking the long walk in the twilight hours.

It was pleasantly warm outside as the streetlights came on and Cadee let herself run. She had never had much endurance as a runner before, but Cadee found without a car she was more and more enjoying the caress of the wind as her legs pumped. As she rounded a sharp corner, Cadee almost collided with a fruit stand, her legs reacted before her brain engaged, and Cadee hurtled the fruit stand, her hand grabbing the flag pole above the nearby shop door, using it to swing forward and land in a crouch.

Stunned, uncertain what had just happened, and mildly alarmed, Cadee stood up slowly and turned around to look at the obstacle she had just overcome. The fruit stand was perfectly intact as was the flag pole – they were both at least ten feet behind her. Shaking it off as an adrenaline infused moment of athleticism, an anomaly of monumental proportions, Cadee took off again, slower and more cautiously, and rounded the corner that led to the coffee bar.

Chloe and Paul had saved her a seat up front with them and it felt nice to have someone smile at her when she took her seat.

"Hey, just in time. Amy's on next," Chloe said as Amy took the stage. "Paul, you better not laugh or your girlfriend might kill you."

Paul, for his part, looked mildly affronted at the suggestion, but nodded. "Hey, I might not be the best boyfriend in the world, but I know that much."

"She looks great," Cadee said, noting Amy's pea-green dress. It fit her nicely and gave her a figure that she didn't normally toot. Her silver painted combat boots made the outfit so Crazy Amy – as did the guitar earrings. Cadee flipped her a thumbs up and Amy gave her that big, uber-excited smile.

"I'd like to dedicate this song to my friends," Amy said and the lights dimmed a little behind her setting the mood.

Through Amy's song, Cadee noticed that people swayed with the lovely, slow rhythm. Everyone seemed to really enjoy Amy's voice, and Cadee saw Chloe's proud expression. Cadee felt Paul's hand brush her thigh and glanced down to see the back of his hand had hit her as he jabbed his leg with a fork. Cadee had to gulp back a laugh and it made her smile the rest of the way through the song.

Amy ended to a roaring applause and Cadee joined her, Chloe and Paul at the bar stage right.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God! They love me!" Amy exclaimed and she downed a shot of espresso that the barista had offered up as congratulations. Amy didn't really look like she needed any more caffeine.

"You rocked it," Chloe told her, giving her a big hug.

"Paul, were you crying?" Amy asked, touching her chest in genuine happiness.

"Yeah, he was," Cadee cut in when Paul started to shake his head and she snatched the fork from his hand before he could show it to her and ruin Amy's moment. "You were amazing."

"Aw, thanks!" Amy squealed, and she wrapped Cadee and Paul in a hug.

"Chloe we have to go," someone, a female someone, said suddenly interrupting Amy's glory moment.

Turning, Cadee saw Jasmine. Jasmine was known for being unknown. She was the enigma at school, the pretty girl with anti-social issues. Cadee had asked to borrow a pencil once in freshman math and other than a polite exchange; Jasmine had remained stoically uninterested in friendship.

"Oh, right. Sorry Ames, I know I promised a…free night, but –" Chloe started and winced to a stop when Amy held up a hand.

"It's okay Chloe. At least you saw me perform. See you at school?" Amy said and from Chloe's relieved and semi-shocked face this was clearly very forgiving of Amy.

"Definitely," Chloe said, giving her another hug.

"Hi Jasmine," Cadee said and Jasmine looked shocked.

"Uh…hi," Jasmine said, still startled.

"Cadee. We had math together last year?" Cadee said. It came out more like a question because the way she was looking at Cadee made her think she may have forgotten.

"Right, I know." Jasmine said as the door to the shop opened and Alek came up behind her.

"What's the hold up?" Alek asked, his arms crossing. His features were so chiseled and perfect; it left Cadee a little flustered. Alek was the kind of good looking guy that knew he was good looking, which was rather unattractive, but when his eyes came to rest on her, Cadee blushed to the roots of her hair. "Well hello."

"Uh, hi. I'm going to get a coffee," Cadee said in a rush and she pushed passed a surprised Paul and pretended to be reviewing the coffee menu. When she tilted her head a little, she could suddenly hear the whispered conversation among the din.

"Do you have to act like you're on the prowl all the time? Cadee's new to our group. And she just broke up with her boyfriend; can you act normal for once?"Chloe asked in an angry whisper.

"Relax, she's human, off limits. So what if I have a little fun. She's a pretty girl," Alek whispered back and Chloe scoffed.

He thinks I'm pretty, Cadee thought, smiling. Her smile turned to a frown as the rest of what he said processed. Human? As if he wasn't? The dream came back with vivid clarity and Cadee sucked in a breath, wondering if it could really be true. Could some Egyptian goddess have visited? Brought her back to life? Cadee, you are going off the deep end, Cadee thought and she turned back to the group.

As she turned, Cadee bumped into a server with a tray of drinks and the scalding hot liquid flew up in the air, the tray flying away like a frizz bee, and the next thing she knew, Cadee was crouched up on the coffee bar, her hands curled around the edge of the counter. Eyes widening, Cadee hopped down, startled. She ran a hand through her hair and tried to tune out the barista and server who were both asking how she had done that while frantically apologizing about the hot drinks at the same time.

Turning her eyes to Chloe and the group gathered, she saw that they were all staring at her. Paul was smiling and nodding. Amy was lock jawed in an open gap. Chloe resembled Amy. Jasmine had wide eyes and open lips. And Alek…Alek seemed intrigued. He was assessing her from head to toe. It sent warmth spiraling to the pit of her stomach.

"Um, well, that's my cue. I have to head home. It's getting dark and I'd like to avoid any more accidents tonight," Cadee said, laughing nervously as the group tried to recompose themselves.

"Cadee, wait," Chloe said and her hand came out in a too-fast move to touch Cadee and, reacting on instinct, Cadee jerked back and hissed. Cadee gasped at the hiss and bolted for the door, leaving the others in her wake.

Night had fallen outside and Cadee took off at a run. She loped through the streets, passing the fruit stand from early and whipping around the sharp corner with dangerous precision. Something in her told her to run; it was a primitive fight or flight urge. Even if Chloe hadn't presented a threat and she had seemed like a truly nice person, Cadee couldn't help but respond negatively to being grabbed after being startled. How _had _she made it onto the coffee bar? How _had_ she hurtled the fruit stand and swung on a flag pole? How could she move so fast and so gracefully when all her life Cadee had been mediocre at most sports and displays of gymnastics? Why did she suddenly hear better? Nothing was adding up. Or rather, it was adding up to one frightening conclusion that Cadee refused to accept.

A block from her apartment, Cadee slowed to a walk and then stopped altogether. She crouched low to the ground and stuck her head between her legs to calm her nerves. Her mom's car was parked on the curb, but Daylin was still out. Going inside to face her mother seemed like the very last thing on her long list of to dos.

"That was some show," someone said behind her and Cadee, again relying on instinct, hopped up and spun a high kick at the person. Her leg was caught in a vice grip and Cadee flailed her arms to stay upright. "No need to fight."

It was Alek; behind him stood Jasmine and a bewildered looking Chloe. His hands were warm on her calf and Cadee actually shivered. He released her leg with a predatory smirk. It suited him.

"What are you doing here?" Better question, how had they kept up?

Alek leaned back against her apartment building and shrugged, "I'm curious."

"So you followed me home because you're curious? Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?" Cadee said, trying to calm her frayed nerves. Alek's smirk grew and Cadee somehow felt that might have been the wrong thing to say.

"I'm still alive. Living proof that statement is false," Alek said in that sexy British accent of his.

"I'm so sorry I scared you earlier," Chloe interrupted, stepping forward even as Jasmine held her back, catching her arm in a firm hold.

"I'm pretty sure I probably scared you right back. It's fine. I'm over it. Thanks for the escort, but I need to get inside," Cadee said, starting to back slowly toward her door while playing off at nonchalance – she had never been a very good actress.

"What I want to know is how you're alive," Alek said and Cadee froze. He must have seen the way she jerked to a halt because he moved closer into her personal space. "Because yesterday you were dead in an alley."

Play it cool, Cadee, play it cool, she thought. "I don't know what you're talking about."

One of Alek's fingers came up to her cheek and slid up to her temple and tapped it lightly where her head had struck concrete, "You took a blow to the head after saving Chloe's life. You were gone. I checked myself. So…how are you here in front of me? And better yet, how come I never knew you were Mai?"

"Mai?" Cadee said, trying to sound confused, but it came out more alarmed than anything.

"Alek, stop it. She doesn't know anything. Maybe she's like me?" Chloe asked, her eyes filling up with hope.

"Chloe that's impossible. There can only be one Uniter," Jasmine told her and Cadee sucked in a breath at that turn of phrase.

"What do you know?" Alek asked, his hands coming up to her shoulders, squeezing her together a little.

"Stop that," Cadee said, and she hissed, drawing back a hand to bat at his arm only to find claw in place of fingernails. Not again. This couldn't be a dream. "Oh my God."

"Goddess actually," Alek said, smirking, grabbing her clawed hand and waving it around as proof. "So I'll ask again. How are you alive?"

"Just let me go. I don't know. I don't know," Cadee denied and she used her other hand to shove him.

Alek catapulted backward and slammed into a car at the curb and its alarm started to go haywire in loud blaring honks and beeps. He crumbled to the cement sidewalk and Cadee gasped.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm...so sorry. I…have to go," Cadee said and she bolt up the steps of her building, punched in the code and hurried to close the door as Jasmine and Chloe knelt beside Alek as he tried to stand. He swayed on his feet and Cadee felt even worse. "I'm so sorry."

His head came up to look at her then and Cadee saw him staring. Unnerved she stepped back into the shadowy darkness by the stairwell, still watching, and his eyes followed her. Chloe and Jasmine seemed to be arguing over something, and Cadee fought to break Alek's mesmerizing hold. When she finally managed to break his gaze she ran up the steps and opened her apartment door.

"Where have you been?" And it was another wonderful end to another wonderful day.

_**Author's Note:**_ Well I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed! Alek's character and this great show have really inspired me. On average I update anywhere between 2-4 weeks, but because this is a new fic the first 3-5 chapters will be updated more frequently (I'm striking while the creative iron is hot! ;)) I'm looking forward to your reviews. I'll be posting chapter 3 this Sunday so be on the lookout. Can't wait to hear from you, EK!


	3. Chapter 3

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Three**

"So I heard from the Mom-inator you took off last night. Where were you?" Daylin asked over breakfast.

Cadee sighed and hit the on button for the blender letting the sound of grinding ice and fruits drown out any answer she might have had. She had already told her mom that she had been out with friends at a coffee shop. Was that good enough? No. She had to give her an overextended lecture about safety and the dangers of society today. That little diddy was followed up by hours and hours of insomnia. Everything that happened with Alek, Chloe, and Jasmine played on a loop in her mind until Cadee gave up her attempts at a good night's sleep and started her day early with some relaxing yoga. Only to be quizzed over her cool down smoothie by her big brother. Great.

When she poured the smoothie into a thermos and grabbed her bag, she finally gave Daylin an answer. "I was out with some new friends."

Daylin, for his part, was a halfway decent older brother. Even though he worked full time and took night classes working towards his personal training degree, he always made time for Cadee. He looked so sleepy, like a big bear ready for hibernation – sitting in his PJs and eating Cocoa Puffs from a giant mixing bowl. They looked nothing alike. Daylin was short for a guy and even though he had a nice body, from his daily work outs, he had a nerdy appeal. Cadee knew for a fact she was an inch taller than him at 5' 11" and she had the rail thin yoga body akin to a dancer. His hair was dark, hers was light. His lips were thin, hers were full. But as day and night as they were, Cadee felt closer to him than their mom.

"What new friends? Where'd the old ones go?" Daylin asked, scratching his chest and yawning.

Shrugging and looking anywhere but at him, Cadee said, "We aren't exactly on speaking terms. Troy and I broke up and I guess my friends divorced me too. But it's cool. I'm fine. New set of best buds and everything." That was an extreme exaggeration. Not only had the break up with Troy made her shed a few (hundred) tears on her pillow, but she missed her quirky crew. Last night had seemed like a good idea, in theory, but after the sour turn of events, Cadee felt back at square one again. No man's land.

Daylin perked up and said, "You kicked that loser to the curb? Good. I never liked him. Too full of himself. And your friends obviously needed replacing if that's how they treat you after all you've done for them." And this is why Cadee loved Daylin, he always made her feel like gold.

"Actually he Dear John'd me. But it's over with. I gotta start walking or I'm going to be late. Love you," Cadee said, backing out of the room quickly toward the door.

"I can give you a ride if you want. It's sort of my fault you don't have a car anymore," Daylin called out.

"Nah, I'm good." Cadee shouted and she slipped out the door and down the stairs toward the outside world.

With her new found agility, Cadee was not only on time for school, she was fifteen minutes early. Plenty of students were still arriving and the hallways were relatively decongested. She made a quick trip to her locker and then slipped into the girls' room by her first class.

Wetting her face to shake off some of her exhaustion, Cadee sighed looking in the mirror. She hadn't even bothered with makeup this morning, it seemed like a virtual waste of time – nothing was going to hide the dark circles bagging under her eyes.

The bathroom door opened and Chloe walked in. Seeing Cadee, her expression became determined and she made a beeline for her.

"Cadee, hi. Um, I know last night was…really awkward, but I wanted you to know that I understand what you're going through. I just found out that I'm Mai too and I don't want you to be afraid of us. Alek and Jasmine were only trying to help figure out what was going on," Chloe started, her face screwing up in a genuine look of concern.

Biting her lip, Cadee looked away from Chloe for a moment and then back up at the face shining with expectation back at her. "I wasn't born Mai, Chloe. My parents are completely human. This…just happened to me."

Confusion clouded over Chloe and Cadee couldn't hold back any longer. "When I saved you in the alley I got knocked out and when I woke up you were gone. I had this really funky dream when I got home. You're going to think I'm crazy, but this woman was in my dream and she said her name was Baset and that she had brought me back to life as…a Mai. She told me you were the Uniter and a bunch of other…completely crazy stuff that I'm having a really hard time swallowing right now. I thought it was just a nightmare, but then Jasmine said you were the Uniter and it reminded me of my dream."

Chloe leaned against the sink, her eyes growing wider as Cadee spoke, and then she let out a big breath and said, "I don't think you're crazy. And neither would Jasmine or Alek. I only just became Mai a couple months ago when I turned sixteen. Baset is the goddess who we came from. If she made you one of us, it's for a reason. I'm not the most knowledgeable about this stuff, but I know someone who is. If you'll meet her."

This moment in time had to be one of the weirdest of Cadee's life; right up there with dying and coming back to life, swinging around on flag poles, running like Superman, and finding out she had claws. Cadee and Chloe were standing in a girls' bathroom talking about being the descendents of a cat goddess and having freaky superpowers. Yeah, my life is totally normal, Cadee thought sarcastically.

"Who is it?" Cadee asked finally, after taking several deep breaths.

Chloe looked excited at the idea of Cadee giving in, and she gave her a megawatt smile that lit up her face. "Her name is Valentina. She's the leader of the San Francisco Mai pride. She's also Jasmine's mom. Kinda scary when you first meet her, but she's way cool."

Scratching her neck, Cadee weighed her options. Go on living in denial, or take all the evidence slapping her in the face and do something about it. Really there was no choice to be made at all.

"Okay. I'm game. But I'd only have time today after school. I volunteer at the animal shelter uptown on weekends," Cadee said, re-shouldering her backpack and picking up her thermos.

"That's totally perfect. I'm going to train with Jasmine and Alek tonight so they're picking me up at work. Do you think you can meet us there? Around six?" Chloe asked.

Nodding, Cadee headed for the door and then stopped and spun around. "Hey Chloe?"

Chloe stopped outside of one of the black speckled stall doors and looked back at her, "Yeah?"

"Is Alek okay?" It had been haunting her since she last saw him. She couldn't get his face out of her head, the way his deep eyes stared back at her before she ran upstairs.

Chloe gave her an appraising look, assessing her in a way that made Cadee shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other, and then grinned and nodded, saying, "Yeah, he's fine. We heal fast and it was only a couple bruises. No big."

Gulping back the relieved sigh that was pressing to come out, Cadee nodded and slipped away to face a long, drawn out Friday.

As Cadee ambled slowly toward Chloe's job, she thought about all the questions she had for Jasmine's mom. She thought about what this whole Mai thing would mean for her. Her life was already changing because of it. She was hanging out with a different crowd, running all over San Francisco like it was a playground. Smacking down teenage boys like she would swat a fly. She also felt fundamentally different. Her body felt like it was choreographing its movements to the world around her, tuning in to something she had never noticed before. Like this morning, while she was doing yoga, she was able to achieve even the hardest poses with ease, her body's flexibility exceeding all of her years of experience.

Turning down the street over from where Chloe worked, Cadee stepped out into the road and then, without a thought, her whole body lurched upward – flying into the air in a rolling leap – before landing on the opposite side of the road on top of someone's cracked windshield. A sleek blue Maserati flew passed, horn honking, and zipped out of sight. Cadee felt a windshield wiper digging into her back and she groaned as she stood back up and shook herself in a full body shiver.

"Lunatic!" Cadee called at the long gone car and she stretched her back a bit before continuing toward her destination.

Cadee was still rubbing the kinks out of her shoulder through her soft, royal blue sweater when she strolled into the vintage clothing store. Alek, Jasmine, and Chloe stood by the register waiting.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked after she noticed her. Alek and Jasmine had already sensed her coming and were facing her.

"Yeah, so crazy just almost ran me over, but I'm fine," Cadee said, rolling her left shoulder and wincing when it made a cracking noise.

"That doesn't sound fine," Jasmine said, frowning and moving forward to poke and prod her lightly. "I think you dislocated it."

"Um, how does one fix that?" Cadee asked, raising a pained eyebrow.

"Like this," Alek said, coming up to her and grabbing her arm. He bent it at the most excruciating angle and thrust upward into the socket. Her whole body jolted and Cadee said a few choice words.

"I guess we're even now," Cadee said through gritted teeth.

"No score to settle," Alek replied mildly. He looked to be drinking her in from head to toe and Cadee suddenly wished she'd changed out of her tie-dye leggings and Nirvana tee shirt for something a little sexier.

"Well let's get going," Jasmine said, cutting through the tension in the air and leading them out to a car on the street.

The eighteenth floor apartment in the ritzy apartment building was definitely a sight to see. Classical art, antique weaponry, posh furniture – it all screamed money and elegance. The view of the city was awe-inspiring and Cadee stood by the large glass wall backdrop and stared open mouthed.

"Wow, this is…gorgeous. You lucky ducks live here?" Cadee asked over her shoulder.

"We are very fortunate," Jasmine said, nodding. Alek merely smirked and Chloe smiled at her the banter.

"Trust me, you get used to it," Chloe said, grabbing a Coke from the fridge.

"I'm glad that you're comfortable here, Chloe," said a new, husky, feminine voice.

The visual that went with the voice was of a sophisticated, mature version of Jasmine. They had the same classic beauty, subtle womanly undertones in their clothes and speech, and a certainty in the way they walked. This must be Valentina, Jasmine's mom.

"You must Cadee. I'm Valentina. It's nice to meet you," Valentina said, coming forward and offered Cadee her hand. Cadee accepted it.

"You too," Cadee said. The butterflies in her stomach were migrating north and Cadee clenched down on her anxiety.

"Chloe told me a very interesting story earlier today. But I'd like to hear it from you. Would you please join us?" Valentina asked, sweeping her arm as she gestured to the sitting area. There was a cream colored fabric chair and black leather couches assembled near a modern glass coffee table. Cadee chose the chair.

"You could sit next to me," Chloe offered, patting the leather seat beside her.

"Um…this is going to sound weird, but is that couch real leather?" Cadee asked.

"Yes," Valentina said, reclining back on one side of the couch.

"Then I'm good. I'm vegan," Cadee said.

"You don't eat meat?" Alek asked, he sounded appalled at the concept.

"Or other animal related products," Cadee acknowledged, running a hand up and down her right arm in a self-soothing gesture.

"How come?" Chloe asked.

"It's not healthy or necessary. Plus the food industry horribly mistreats animals and I volunteer at an animal shelter and it kind of gets to you. Seeing how many animals are abandoned and abused. I gave up meat when I was ten," Cadee said.

Jasmine smiled and Valentina nodded politely. Alek seemed to be caught between the urge to roll his eyes and smile. Chloe just stayed silent.

"So tell me everything about that day in the alley," Valentina said.

"Like from when I woke up or when I got to the alley?" Cadee asked.

"From when you woke up. I'd like to understand everything that led up to this change," Valentina insisted.

Sighing, Cadee took a deep breath and told her about that awful day. The four Mai sitting across from her seemed to focus so completely on what she was saying they looked like living statues. By the time she was finished reiterating, Cadee felt like she should poke one of them just to see if they were alive.

"Well, you are unlike anyone I have ever met Cadee," Valentina started. "Baset has never, to my knowledge, changed a human into one of us. It seems that we will be seeing a lot more of you around here. There are some things you should know."

"Such as?" Cadee asked.

"You have to be very careful around humans. We are not able to be intimate with them romantically. We emit a certain poison that can be fatal to a human given the nature of the interaction. You will have to start training with Jasmine and Alek also, it is important in these dangerous times to know how to defend yourself. We have a human enemy called the Order; a small group of vigilante humans who choose to hunt us. Nothing is more important that keeping the fact that you are Mai a secret. If the wrong people find out, we would all be in jeopardy."

"When you say romantically intimate –" Cadee began only to be cut off by a smirking Alek.

"Not even a kiss," Alek said. He pointedly looked at Chloe who seemed on the verge of tears.

"I kissed someone, once. On my birthday. He died," Chloe confessed, blinking back tears and smiling sadly when Jasmine laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"But Mai can kiss other Mai?" asked Cadee, her brow furrowing.

"I could show you," Alek offered, leaning in close to her from his spot on the couch nearest her.

"Alek, now is not the time to be a lecher," Jasmine reprimanded.

"Jasmine is right. Get it under control," Valentina said to him in warning. Turning her attention back to Cadee, Valentina responded, "You can kiss other Mai; that is perfectly safe."

Rolling his eyes, Alek leaned back into the couch.

"Good thing you and that prat Troy broke up," Alek intoned.

Narrowing her eyes, Cadee stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't want to even hear his name. Just…forget you know anything about that."

"What? He's a loser who –" Alek said.

"Who is none of our business," Valentina cut in, giving Alek another cautioning glance. He cut off and Valentina, who had been trying to control her patience with this conversation, gave Cadee a warm smile. "Why don't you join us for dinner?"

Startled at the concept of time, Cadee checked her phone, which had been tucked into her C-cup bra, and almost jumped out of her skin in alarm. "Shit! It's like eight o'clock, I am so grounded! Sorry for the language but I live on the other side of town and I told my mom I'd be home for dinner. She's not exactly happy I went out last night and she'll be even less happy if she finds out that I went out tonight. It's this whole big…thing – you know about the car and now not having one. I have to go."

"I'll drive you," Jasmine offered, coming to stand beside her. Chloe joined her also.

"Chloe, you have to train," Valentina said. "Alek will take her home. Jasmine, you are better at explaining, you will start her training tonight."

"Hey, I explain just fine," Alek said, apparently affronted.

"Actually, I do understand Jasmine's directions better. And she doesn't hit me as hard," Chloe muttered the last.

"I don't care who takes me, I'm a dead woman if I don't get out of her pronto," Cadee said, growing agitated.

"Let's go," Alek said, grabbing up the car keys on the accent table near the door.

"It was nice meeting you," Cadee shouted at Valentina as she practically vaulted out the door.

The way Alek drove, Cadee was fairly certain they broke traffic laws. No one spoke on the ride home, but all Cadee was hoping was that her mom didn't make it home before she did. As long as she got back before her mother did all would be right in the world. They came to a jerky stop just in front of a fire hydrant at the corner, and Cadee nearly flew to the stoop her feet moved so fast. When she started to punch in the code she heard the clearing of a throat. Stopping, Cadee turned to see Alek standing behind her.

"What not even a thank you? I did just drive fifteen miles to get you home by curfew," Alek said, a sexy little smirk lingering enticingly at the corner of his mouth.

Nervously, Cadee tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Being this close to someone like Alek, knowing he was one of the few guys she could ever kiss, made the moment more intimate. Her heart kicked up and she heard it thumping faster in her ears and when his smirk turned into a cocky smile, she just knew he could too. How embarrassing.

"Thank you?" Cadee said it more like a question.

"That's not how you say thank you. But this is how I say you're welcome," Alek teased and in the next moment his lips were on hers.

His movement was so fast it didn't register in her mind until she felt the silky, soft, wet glide of his mouth on hers and his tongue coming out to tease at the seam of her lips. Cadee had only ever kissed Troy and comparing that to this was like comparing the brightness of the sun and the moon. Alek's kisses dazzled, intoxicated, enthralled. Troy's kisses were sloppy, cool, and vaguely impersonal. When Cadee's mouth touched Alek's it was like they connected. His large, hot hands skimmed up her back and wrapped her tightly in his arms, steel bands that trapped her in this cosmic moment. Time stilled for several heartbeats and then Cadee heard her mother's gasp.

"Cadee Eve what the hell is going on?" Cadee heard and she broke free from Alek with a frantic shove.

Alek took a step back and other than looking mildly mussed, he looked altogether pleased. "Night Cadee," he said in parting and he was in his car pulling away from the curb faster than Cadee had the time to process that he had just left her alone with her very angry mother.

"Who was that and why were you kissing him? And what are you doing out here? Was that what you were up to last night? Sneaking out to meet some strange boy? I don't like this Cadee, not at all," her mom said, holding a bag of take out in one hand and her briefcase and keys propped up against her hip as she stared at her daughter.

"No, it's not like that. I mean, yes, Alek was there last night, but I didn't go out just to see him. I told you where I was. And I didn't sneak out; you just weren't home when I left. He…came over to drop off some notes. I didn't plan on kissing him. He kissed me." Cadee said defensively before doing a mental forehead slap. That sounded lame and even Cadee didn't blame her mother for looking skeptical.

"It's like I don't even know you anymore. Getting a flat tire, sneaking out to meet boys, making out in front of our apartment _at night!_ And to top it all off, I got a call from Mr. Bolin today and he told me that you forgot to bring your violin to school three times this week. What happened to your priorities Cadee?" her mom said, punching in the code to the building and after handing off some of her load to an unwilling Cadee, she frog marched her daughter all the way up to their apartment.

"I didn't sneak out!" Cadee said as that was the only thing she could viably deny.

"What's next? Are you going to start skipping school? Drugs? Drinking? Sex? Oh my God, Cadee, tell me you aren't already having sex!" Mia asked.

"Mom! I'm not like that and you know it," Cadee said and she grew angrier and angrier as her mom went.

"How am I supposed to know when you start acting suspiciously?"

"Well maybe if you were around to see me more you would know," Cadee finally said, exasperated and pissed off. Her mom visibly flinched and Cadee instantly wanted to retract her words. It wasn't fair to pull that card on her mom. She worked hard to keep the bills paid and food in the fridge. Sure they didn't spend much time together anymore, but Cadee couldn't fault her mom for that.

Expression stony, Mia pointed to Cadee's bedroom, "Go to your room. I can't even look at your right now. Here." Her mom grabbed a carton of vegetable lo mien from the take out and thrust it at Cadee before whirling around and staring quietly at the stove.

For the rest of the night Cadee sat in her room feeling guilty with an untouched carton of Chinese wishing for a fork.

_**A/N:**_ Thank you guys so much for all the great reviews! Your quick responses made my fingers fly across the keyboard. I can't wait to hear what you think of chapter three. I have a full work week coming up and my new semester starts up on the 18th so I'll be pretty busy, but I'm going to my very best to update ASAP. Thanks again, EK!


	4. Chapter 4

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Four**

As Cadee made her way quietly down the hallway to the kitchen she listened for any indication if her mother had left for work yet. All weekend she had managed to dodge her mother's pesky inquiries about Alek and all the "unknown" details of Cadee's "illustrious" personal life. Cadee tried to image how that conversation would go and it was right around the part of her made of scenarios when she told her mother she had died and turned into a member of a cat-like race that she envisioned her mother's complete and total breakdown. Daylin had been a big help in giving her the heads up when their mom left for work and a call about when she was on her way home.

Waiting in the shadows of the hallway, Cadee tilted her head to the side and listened. She heard the sound of her brother eating his morning cereal, paper being stuffed into something, and the unexpected cuddly purrs Jade made as she suddenly wrapped herself around Cadee's leg. Cadee took a stumbling step around Jade only to skid into the living room where her mother stood zipping up her satchel. Great.

"Morning Cadee," Mia said, not turning to face her daughter.

"Morning Mom," Cadee murmured, glaring down accusingly at Jade even as Daylin stopped trying to signal her back into the hallway – his reaction delayed and useless.

"Come sit down for breakfast," Mia said, turning to point Cadee to her designated seat at the breakfast table. A bowl of organic fruit and oatmeal sat steaming waiting for her.

"Don't you have to get to work?" Cadee asked as she took up her seat across from Daylin. He was shrugging his shoulders and doing his impression of the awkward third party.

"I called in and said I was going to be running late. It's been a while since we've had a family breakfast and it's just about time we reconnect," Mia said, joining them with a mug of coffee.

"Okay," Cadee said, dropping her backpack by her feet.

"Now I know that things have been tight lately," Mia started. "However, I do not think it's so bad that we can't afford to eat more meals together. I have also decided to make more time to meet your friends, reacquaint myself with your lifestyles."

Cadee looked at Daylin with a raised eyebrow. Their mom might be using the plural but the overall message was clear – Cadee was on trial here.

"I might have overreacted the other night, Cadee, and I didn't like what you said about me not being around, but you're right. I'm not here as much, and I've lost touch with who you are and who your friends are. I was under the impression you were still with Troy. He's such a nice boy, what happened?"

Mom invasion alert, Mom invasion alert started blaring through Cadee's mind, but she gritted her teeth around a mouthful overcooked, mushy oatmeal and swallowed.

"Troy and I broke up last week. I don't know why, I didn't ask. Alek's just a friend from school and we have a class together," Cadee said, lying through her teeth about Alek. "And I started sitting with Amy from middle school choir and her friends. Alek's one of them."

"And you kiss all your friends that way on our doorstep?" Mia asked, her brows flying up to her hairline.

Blushing furiously, Cadee huffed, "No. And he kissed me. I wasn't expecting it."

"Wait, you were tonguing a guy on our doorstep?" Daylin asked, his face breaking out into a wide grin. He reached out a fist and waved it around for a fist-bump.

Scoffing at him, Cadee slapped his hand which he playfully waved "in pain" and chuckled even as Mia stared him down in motherly fashion.

"No, he kissed me," Cadee argued back.

"And you were not kissing him back?" Daylin taunted and Cadee colored a tomato red.

"Mom, really, this isn't necessary. I almost never see him except at school. Please, please, just drop this," Cadee begged and Jade, who had curled up at her feet, nipped her ankle in more than a love bite. Hissing in pain, Cadee bit back a growl of frustration – so much for a quiet breakfast before school.

"I will not drop this. It's important I know what's going on in your life. If for no other reason, for my sanity's sake," Mia insisted, crossing her arms, mug of coffee tipping precariously in one hand.

"What about Alek set you off? Is it because of Mr. Bolin calling? He's just being…I don't know – he's taking an interest in me," Cadee said, it was the most parent safe terminology for buttinski. "I have my violin at school in my locker and I'm doing good in all my classes."

Pursing her lips, Mia said, "I didn't even get to properly meet this Alek boy. Who just takes off after kissing someone's daughter?"

"Any dude with a brain?" Daylin chimed in, smiling smugly into his Fruity Pebbles. As the spotlight was not Daylin centered he was perfectly content to sit on the sidelines and watch his mother and sister do a verbal throw down.

"Daylin," Mia chastised.

"Mom, come on. He was macking on Cadee in our doorway when you pulled up, what kind of first impression could he have made from there out that would have made you like him?" Daylin asked around a mouthful of cereal. Cadee hated see-food and promptly pushed her own bowl of unappetizing mush away.

Their mom was shaking her head at him, but she paused, sighed, and nodded.

"Fair point. I suppose I would have been more likely to beat him with my purse than invite him in for Chinese," Mia said, smiling ruefully. "But I'd like to meet him."

Oh, dang, so close, Cadee thought. She had been in the process of getting up from her chair and grabbing her bag when her mom said that and she felt the wind oxygen in the room evaporate.

"No, Mom, no. Come on. We're not dating, we just –"

"Were making out on the street in front of our apartment building in the middle of the night?" Mia asked, eyebrows raised.

"He kissed me!" Cadee exclaimed, fed up, even though she had kissed him back. "And it wasn't the middle of the night – it was like eight thirty."

Jade suddenly jumped up on the table and hissed, reacting off Cadee's tone, and Mia jerked in surprise, sending her coffee everywhere. She started to swear and Cadee took the opportunity to drop a kiss on Jade's furry head and head toward the door.

"Sorry Mom, but I have to go. I'll be late to school if I don't leave now. By Day," Cadee called and she practically flew out the door, down the stairs, and through the front doors of the building.

School was bustling by the time Cadee arrived and she took a moment to take deep, panting breaths. When she straightened she almost smacked into Chloe, who stood beaming brightly at her. Chloe had a vibrant, friendly, off-beat personality that instantly put people at ease and charmed them in half the time it took to say hello. Today that perky, happy, bubbly attitude was grating on the nerves.

"Hi Chloe. Give a girl a heart attack why don't you," Cadee said, trying to smile back as they walked into school and down the hall to the main lockers.

Chloe laughed and gave a mock supercilious smile, "Finally, I'm not the rooky anymore. You grasshopper have much to learn about Mai talents."

"Like being aware of your surroundings?" Alek asked, popping out in front of Chloe thoroughly startling her.

Cadee laughed and Chloe glared and it seemed to realign the cosmic balance of the morning. It was too early to be awkward and grumpy the rest of the day, Cadee thought.

"I bought you a bell. I just need to buy some string," Chloe told him, crossing her arms and tilting her head up and away in irritation.

Alek didn't respond, he was too busy staring at Cadee in a way that made her squirm. He wore the usual tigh shirt, fitted pants, sexy-messy hair look and Cadee tried not to focus on her blue tights, pink skirt, and silver-and-black top. He was jock chic and Cadee was punk pretty.

"Morning kitten," Alek said, leaning against the locker near Cadee's as they arrived by it.

Ignoring him, Cadee spun the combo and slapped a fierce hand against the top to make it pop open. It always stuck.

"Not talking to me?" Alek asked when Chloe excused herself to talk to Amy and Paul across the hall.

Pointedly looking at him and then grabbing her violin case, Cadee slammed her locker shut and headed toward the orchestra room. Alek followed like a shadow, quiet and mostly unnoticed.

"Is this about that kiss? You're angry I didn't stick around?" Alek asked when they were in the empty room where Cadee bent to store her instrument and look for spare resin for her bow – it wasn't playing loud enough. "I understand, you got taste and –"

"Do you just like to hear your own voice?" Cadee finally said, exasperated as she banged around Mr. Bolin's desk, looking through his junk drawers.

Alek smirked in that all-too-sexy way Cadee hated him for, though secretly loved, and sat on the edge of the desk. "Knew you couldn't resist speaking to me."

"My mom totally freaked out after you kissed me and now she wants to meet you and "be more involved"," Cadee said, putting air quotes around the last – it was the last thing she heard her mom shout as she made like Sonic the Hedgehog and zoomed out the door this morning.

Alek shrugged, "We have training every night this week. I can meet her when I pick you up."

Cadee stared at him incredulously and shook her head in amazement.

"No. No. No. You and my mom are too stay a city-block's distance away from each other at all times. I don't want her thinking that you're my boyfriend and I don't want her to be involved with anyone who's…Mai. It's bad enough I have to pull a Superman and be Cadee normal teen during the day and Mai trainee at night," Cadee said firmly and then she spotted a chunk of amber colored rock being used as a paperweight and grabbed it, tossing it in her instrument case and heading for the door out into the hallway.

Alek inserted himself in the space between Cadee and the double doors leading out into the pupil-packed halls. His hands caught her biceps and his expression was serious.

"You are Mai; whether I meet your mother or not, that's not going to change. Your family will always be in danger as long as you deny who you are now, and you have to focus your skills if you hope to survive the Order," Alek told her, face scant inches from Cadee's, and then he smirked again and brushed a hand down the side of her face. Cadee felt the intense urge to lean into the palm of his hand, rub her soft skin against his rough hand, and preen. She smacked that urge down hard. "Besides, you kissed me back and you liked it."

Flustered and angry all over again, Cadee huffed, dodged under his arm and pushed out into the hallway. She ignored everyone around her as she was jostled from all sides and collapsed the seat closest to the door in her first class. The tone for the rest of her day was colored in shades of annoyance.

When lunch came, Cadee dropped down beside Amy and Chloe and only perked up when she noticed Jasmine had also joined the party, having taken up residence beside a peppy Paul, who seemed to be asking a million questions a minute to which Jasmine stoically and minimally replied.

"Hi Jasmine," Cadee said, pulling out her Greek salad pita pocket and mixed nuts; her stomach was growling after not getting in any breakfast.

"Hello," Jasmine said, her eyes scanning Cadee from the crown of her head to lunch in her hands. Jasmine was a peculiar person to be around. She seemed more aware of her surroundings than of being a part of the actual here-and-now. When Jasmine's head tilted and she smiled at something over Cadee's shoulder, Cadee's brow furrowed in confusion.

Two seconds passed and then Cadee felt it, someone was creeping up behind them. Grabbing an uncracked walnut, Cadee spun around in her seat and threw it, hard. Alek was on the receiving end of the fast passed object and it hit him square between the eyes and bounced off with a faint thwack. He looked as shocked as Cadee felt. Their table erupted into laughter.

"You so deserve that," Chloe said enthusiastically, cracking up and offering Cadee a high five.

Cadee grinned and picked up another nut. Alek held his hands up in a sign of peace.

"I come in peace," Alek joked and then snatched a spare chair from a nearby table of cheerleaders who seemed to fawn at his very presence, before shoving his chair between Chloe's and Cadee's. "Besides, you aren't supposed to play with your food."

"Okay, Mom," Chloe said in a scoff. Even Jasmine cracked a smile at that one while Alek shot her an irritated glare. Those two never seemed to really get along, though Chloe had been concerned that night when Cadee had thrown Alek into that car.

"Why are you sitting with us?" Amy asked him, her pretty eyes narrowed.

"Yeah did you jocko friends exile their king?" Chloe asked, rolling her eyes and digging in to her own lunch.

"Very funny," Alek deadpanned, throwing an arm around Cadee's chair. Cadee was too nice to tell him to buzz off, but she did shrug her shoulders when a hand crept up over one.

"Why are either of you sitting here actually?" Amy asked, glancing from Jasmine to Alek and then to Chloe in question.

Chloe shrugged, unaffected, and started fiddling around with her iPod.

Jasmine seemed to be searching for the right words, which Paul seemed to be waiting for – invisible pen and pad at the read, and then she said, "Truthfully, my mom thinks it's best to stay close now that Cadee is one of us. Before we only had to worry about the Order attacking Chloe, that's different now."

"Different how?" Chloe asked, her face becoming concerned. That girl had some mood swings, Cadee thought.

"Different because now there is another Mai who has lived more than one life, and there is no one like Cadee. No human has ever become what we are, and that makes Cadee a high priority target," Alek said, his voice whispering over the shell of Cadee's ear, his mouth so close it tickled her sensitive skin and she shivered.

"So, what, Cadee's like Uniter 2.0?" Paul asked, his whole expression lifting into ecstatic delight. It was like all his dreams were coming true. "Does this mean Cadee's got nine lives too? Will she have superpowers like Chloe? Oh, can anyone become a Mai now?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at him as Amy smacked his arm. Jasmine was staring back at her and Cadee shifted a little further away from Alek in an attempt to put some distance between them. Everything felt more intimate with Alek and that was unsettling.

"As far as we know, there is only one Uniter. We don't know if Cadee will have more than one life, or if she'll have any special abilities, but we think she might. Baset doesn't just bless anyone. And no, not just anyone can become a Mai. Like I said, this is the first time it has ever happened."

Body clenching in response, Cadee bit her lips and lost her appetite. Great, another meal coming to an unpleasant end because some people just didn't know how to make small talk.

"So are you going to give me a break and slink around her rooftop?" Chloe asked, sipping on a can of Coke with a hopeful look.

Jasmine shook her head and grinned ruefully. Something in Jasmine's smile changed around Chloe, it seemed genuine, not forced, and friendlier than any Cadee had ever seen from her. Jasmine the Mystery had a friend; one that made her more human, or rather Mai, than enigma.

"No, Chloe. Cadee will be being watched, but you'll still have me as your protector," Jasmine said.

Paul, who had lapsed into dejected silence, perked up again like a toy with new batteries, and looked at Cadee. "Do you feel different? Can you, like, sense your inner-cat-goddess?"

Cadee wanted to laugh and said he was crazy, but something inside of her reared up, filling her up with untold emotion, and Cadee turned away from Paul's all-knowing stare, inadvertently bringing herself face-to-face with Alek. He was watching her reactions closely and Cadee fought off that emerging well of…something, and focused on his breath on her lips. They were close enough to kiss and that thought blew any rising power to smithereens. Forcing herself to face Paul again, Cadee's face heated up and she shrugged.

"It's different, yeah. I don't know how to describe it," Cadee said, and she blew out a breath of relief and jerked to her feet when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. "Gotta jet."

"Hey, wait," Chloe said, grabbing Cadee's arm to hold her in place and then she turned to Jasmine. "You said you'll still be my protector, but that Cadee will be being watched too. Who's going to watch her?" Okay, kind of pertinent info, Cadee thought, looking back at Jasmine.

"Oh that's easy," Alek said, bumping into Cadee's back as he handed her the backpack she had almost left behind, "I will."

Chloe gapped open mouthed at him, and then snapped her mouth shut with a pleased smile.

"What? No. Remember that whole discussion this morning. You, my mom, a city-block's distance?" Cadee asked him, wanting to wipe that self-satisfied smirk off Alek's face.

"I remember something about you kissing me back," Alek trailed off, feigning thoughtfulness.

"You kissed!" Amy exclaimed and Cadee watched several heads turn in their directions. Oh the mortification. If it wasn't one boy it was another who was making Cadee the school skeptical.

"He kissed me!" Cadee whispered back loudly, and then she stormed off, leaving a school hierarchy in chaotic aftershocks.

Cadee threw herself into her work, participating more in her classes, focusing more rigorously on her piece in orchestra, demanding they repeat the song over and over until it was perfect, and all to avoid thinking about lunch. Alek made cameo appearances in the halls between classes and Cadee did a very thorough job of avoiding him and Chloe and Jasmine. Amy had tried to corner Cadee in the hall outside her last period, but Paul ended up in a confrontation with a jock friend of Alek's and had gone off to rescue her boyfriend – affording Cadee the escape she needed.

Her run home was more of a jog and the nearer she got to her apartment the less inclined she felt to go inside. She did a u-turn jog up around her block and headed down to the park with the center fountain most people used as a wishing well. She dug out a fist full of change from the outer pocket of her backpack and threw it into the aqua blue waters. The fountain as made of grey stone, the center piece angelic, and water spouted from the mouth of a cherub. Cadee closed her eyes and said, "I wish to be normal."

_Something happened when Cadee opened her eyes again. She was back in that place, the one with white waves and Baset appeared in front of her, a vision of beauty and peace. Cadee felt that something inside of her from lunch rise up and before her eyes her nails pushed out to claws, her senses became acutely more aware, and her ears felt funny. _

_ "You are anything but normal. You never were," Baset said, laying a gentle, soothing hand on her right shoulder. _

_ "I wasn't supposed to be a Mai. Why can't I just be me?" Cadee asked. _

_ "You're afraid. I understand. But you are a Mai now, and that will not change. I chose you. You will come to love this, you will come to accept this, and when you do, I will not be the only one waiting." Baset's voice was so powerful it rippled through her like sound waves, like the white light energy, it filled her up inside until she felt happier than she ever had before. _

_ "Where am I? What happened to the park?" Cadee asked, closing her eyes to Baset's smile – it was too perfect, it hurt to see it. _

_ "You are still in the park. I have suspended time. I grant wishes at this fountain from time to time. Should you ever need to contact me, merely wish here and I will come. Perhaps, you do not yet know yourself, and that is why you wish to return to your unfair, unappreciated life from before. That will change. As do all things. Make me proud, I'll be watching," Baset said, her eyes that familiar Jade green, and then she was gone. _

Cadee was back in the park, her hand hovering over the fountain's lip and her body was trembling with suppressed anticipation.

"You can never be normal again," a voice said from behind her and Cadee turned to see Alek. For a moment, his words registered in tone with Baset's in her mind, and Cadee stood frozen to reality, before shaking her head and looking back at the stone monument.

"I know."

"Well…good. So, let's go meet your mum, and then it's off to the salt mines," Alek teased, his breath on her neck, and Cadee forced herself not to jump, a part of her having known he was there.

"You are not meeting my mom," Cadee said. In truth, Cadee adored Alek's accent, especially when he said things that sounded oh-so-British, like mum.

"Cadee, Cadee, Cadee," even her name sounded sexy on his tongue. "I'll wear you down you know." It was statement, not a question and Cadee fought an eye roll.

"Come on, I have to change if we're going to do this," Cadee said, and with a last backward glance over her shoulder, Cadee led a very willing Alek back to her apartment.

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys, thanks so much for all the reviews - I'm really blown away with how many this story already has only four chapters in. I hope you enjoyed this update. I would have had it up yesterday, but you know real life, always getting in the way of FF. Enjoy and review, EK!


	5. Chapter 5

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Five**

"Shush, you need to be quiet," Cadee whispered to Alek through her bedroom door.

Cadee had caved. Alek had manipulated her into letting him into the apartment when she went up to change. Her Bronco hadn't been parked in its usual place at the curb out front, which meant her mom wasn't home for the moment, so when Alek started playing the hurt little kitten being left out on the stoop in the rain – it wasn't even raining! – Cadee had given in. Now she was sincerely regretting her decision as she sifted through her clean laundry basket looking for her yoga pants. So far, Cadee had to tell him to turn off the living room stereo, the TV, and to stop shouting out random comments from what sounded like her kitchen.

"Why? We're the only ones here?" Alek said back, and then a cabinet banged shut.

Sighing in frustration, Cadee found her favorite, light blue yoga pants and finished dressing as quickly as possible.

Cadee hurried out into the main area of the apartment to see Alek lounging on the couch eating her brother's pork rinds. Fisted hands coming to rest on her hips, Cadee raised an eyebrow at Alek as he flipped through one of her music magazines.

"What do you think you're doing? If my mother comes home right now she'd spot you in a second. And Daylin would kill you for eating those. Put them back – I can't even pretend I ate them if he suspects anything," Cadee said, grabbing the magazine from his right hand and throwing it down on the coffee table.

Alek looked up at her with those gorgeous eyes and smirked. God, when he did that it made Cadee's breath catch and she had to remind herself to breathe. Alek might be the cool jock at school, but Cadee refused to let his "image" get to her.

"Well since I want to meet your mum, I don't see a problem," Alek told her, handing her the bag when Cadee reached for it, and then he stretched out. Jade jumped up out of nowhere onto his chest and purred like a motorboat while cuddling up to his face, tail twitching. Little traitor. "Well your cat likes me."

Cadee returned the bag to Daylin's cabinet in the kitchen and turned to see Alek nuzzling Jade, and a little of her resistance to him crumbled. They made quite the picture together on the couch and Cadee smiled and then bit her lip to force it back.

"Are we going? I have to hurry up and do this before anyone gets home. I have homework and I'm pretty sure I'm grounded."

Alek set Jade down gently on the floor and hopped to his feet, following her out the door, and then taking the lead after she locked up.

"Do you have any fighting experience?" Alek asked as they raced through the city, Cadee following his lead – jumping over trashcans and cars, scaling fire escapes, practically flying over the gaps between buildings. Cadee started to sweat, but she remembered to breathe in through her nose, out through her mouth, and to be conscious of her heartbeat.

"Not really. I do yoga, Pilates, and Tae Bo, but I've never really been in a fight before," Cadee said while huffing as she tried to speak and concentrate at the same time.

"Well at least you'll be limber," Alek said, and Cadee wanted to knock him off the rooftop as they jumped toward the next building where Jasmine and Chloe stood stretching and waiting. The way Alek said the word limber made Cadee want to blush if she wasn't already red in the face from exercise.

"Catch," Alek shouted when he stopped by an open cooler.

Looking up and reaching out on instinct, Cadee caught the water bottle, but because she was so startled her grip was tighter and her nails extended and completely slashed open the bottle all down the front of her black tank top. Wonderful.

"Oops," Alek said, but his smirk was too self-satisfied for Cadee to believe he was even remotely sorry.

"Alek stop being an ass and hand her a water bottle," Chloe said and she and Cadee shared a smile.

"You've already had a warm up, are you good to go?" Jasmine asked after Cadee had finished off the first bottle of water and started on a second.

Shaking her head, Cadee said, "I want to stretch. I wasn't exactly expecting an obstacle course before starting."

"I know right? They think we're superhuman right off the bat. I mean, hello, some of us have to build up endurance," Chloe said, rolling her eyes when Alek laughed.

"Well you aren't human, Chloe. We expect more from you. As a Mai, you need to be prepared at all times to run for your life. The Order is not going to let you take a time out because it's too hard," Jasmine lectured, she looked like a statue, impeccable in posture and with a serious face to match.

Cadee listened to them banter back and forth as she went into a full sun salutation, twice, and into a warrior pose series. Cracking her neck from side to side, Cadee flipped forward in a handstand and held her position. That got their attention.

"Wow. You are like a gymnast or something," Chloe said, her mouth gaping open slightly. Jasmine remained mute, but circled her position.

Balancing her weight shift from both hands to her left, Cadee slowly brought her right arm out from under her and held it to the side. The veins in her wrist used to strain and pull when she would do this, it was a pleasure pain, but since she was newly made Mai, Cadee had found herself doing many things with ease she had never possessed before. She repeated the position with her other arm, and closed her eyes to listen to her surroundings.

She heard him before he swept out at her, she smelled his approach, and before his arm could collide with her abs, Cadee released her arm and did a forward tuck and leapt onto the buildings edge, eyes popping open, arms held at her sides to steady her.

"Nice!" Chloe shouted and Cadee almost lost her focus, but stepped back down and turned to glare at Alek.

"I said I wanted to stretch first," Cadee mumbled, crossing her arms, brow furrowing in displeasure.

"I was just testing your awareness," Alek said shrugging.

"It's good that you trust your instincts, it's one less thing we have to teach you," Jasmine said, smiling at Cadee for the first time. Wow, that smile lit up her entire face, Cadee had always thought Jasmine was pretty, but when she smiled she was beautiful. And if Cadee had never become Mai, she never would have known that. Weird.

"I hate when they sneak attack. It makes me jumpy," Chloe said, rolling her eyes when Alek smirked at her.

"What's a matter, King, can't take it? It's better to be jumpy and alive, then calm and dead," Alek pointed out, uncrossing his arms and reaching into a black duffle bag and withdrawing round, black weights attached to wristbands and tossing two to both Chloe and Cadee.

Jasmine tossed out wooden staffs and Cadee realized the whole rooftop had been decked out dojo style. Various weapons, objects, and crates acted as a training gym, and Cadee couldn't help but wonder where it all had come from as she mimicked Chloe in putting the weights on her wrists, and catching the staff Jasmine tossed her.

"Alright. We're going to partner off. Chloe, you need to work on your speed, so tonight, I'll be training you. Cadee, we want to see where your strength and awareness levels lie, so you'll be with Alek. We'll be doing three object change outs; you'll go from staffs to throwing stars, to ball weights, and then to Manriki chains," Jasmine announced and with that she lunged forward at Chloe.

Cadee jumped back just in time to avoid Alek's first strike and brought her own staff up to block a blow to her left shoulder. As he moved at her, Cadee responded defensively, her footsteps moving in response to his – like a dance. A terrifying dance. He struck down at the ground and on instinct Cadee jumped up, landing on now-closed-cooler, but was not fast enough to avoid the sweep out stroke of his staff as he struck her legs, sending her backwards onto the ground. His staff came down to pin her, and Cadee glared.

"That hurt," Cadee said, and using her staff, jabbed Alek in the chest, his staff moving enough so she could roll from underneath it, and then she was back on her feet, moving.

This time, watching him, Cadee tried to sense his next move, tried to preemptively twirl from his path, and ended up in between Jasmine and Chloe. Both staffs had been on the descent and Cadee's eyes widened and her staff came up faster than she thought possible between them, catching the strikes of wood against wood from both ends. The slap of wood on wood rang loudly for a moment, and then Cadee did a full standing tuck to get from between both girls. Their weapons clacked together as soon as Cadee was free and she dodged to the right, Alek's staff whistling to the ground beside her.

Spinning to face him, Cadee brought her staff out straight and caught his right shoulder, backpedaling only to trip and fall over one of the crates.

"Oomph!"Cadee lost her breath and stayed down panting.

"Not bad. Actually, very, very good," Alek said in that sexy accent, and Cadee watched him extend a hand to her. Accepting it, Cadee allowed him to pull her to her feet and they shared a smile.

"Thanks. You do this every night?" Cadee asked, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it as Jasmine called for a weapons change out. Yay, throwing stars, this would be fun – or horrific. Cadee shook out her wrists, tossing Jasmine her staff and felt the sweat beading around the weight bands, if she hadn't been feeling a burn before, she was now.

Alek shrugged, "I know I make this god-like body seem effortless, but a man has to stay fit."

"What man?" Chloe taunted. She shared a smile with Cadee and Cadee couldn't help but really start to like Chloe. She seemed light-hearted and fun in a lot of ways, and even though they were both training with the idea in mind they might be killed, it didn't seem to weigh on Chloe's spirit. Amazing. Thought it might help her optimism that she had more than one life to live.

Both Alek and Jasmine wrenched open a crate and withdrew shiny, silver stars.

"I can show you just how man I am later, if you'd like, King," Alek responded, to which Chloe rolled her eyes – that seemed to be a trademark of their weird-pseudo friendship.

"In your dreams," Chloe called out.

"Any tips?" Cadee asked Alek, eying the stars nervously. She noted her lack of weaponry and gulped. Cadee had always been more peace- love-dove than warrior badass. She had even staged a sit-in against the war, hippy style, in elementary school.

Alek looked up from where he was discretely tucking the stars on various parts of his body, ten stars total, and the arrogant smirk was gone, so was the serious face, he looked almost…compassionate. "Run, duck, and be aware."

"That's it?" Cadee asked and then screamed when Alek sent one flying right for her. She listened; running, ducking, and trying to be aware of her surroundings when the next one was coming.

Chloe did a cartwheel passed her as Cadee skidded behind a crate, hearing the thud of two more stars embedding themselves in the wood pressed to her back. Her heartbeat raced and Cadee dashed in a zigzagging dart toward another crate and dove over the top. A star narrowly missed her and hit the rooftop access door.

"Be faster or the next one will get you," Alek called and Cadee yelped when she looked up at the sound of his feet dropping down on top of the box.

Up and running again, Cadee pushed herself to go faster, rushing passed Jasmine, whose face was scarily serious, and twisting in a midair jump to land on another crate as another star whizzed by. Grimacing, Cadee glanced down at her right shoulder and noted the slash mark, a thin line of dark blood started to form. The moment the pain hit, it was like an adrenaline shot, Cadee swooped forward, body sliding under the mini-bridge created by a formation of boxes, and her hands grabbed hold of the lip of the building, the momentum enough to allow her to jerk up to a handstand. She jumped back down to her feet, and ran along the roofs edge.

Cadee forced herself to block out the sound of her breathing and she tried to hear Alek's footsteps behind her. He was moving fast, almost on her and Cadee saw the rooftop of the building across from her. The gap was bigger than any she had tried with Alek, bigger than any she had tried alone while exploring the city like one giant playground, but the throbbing in her shoulder was enough to send Cadee hurdling, her feet pushing off the roof rim, and for what felt like hours, her body flew.

The street below was vacant, one lamppost on each end, and as she sailed over it through the air, Cadee wondered if this was what it felt like to be a bird. Shouts incited behind her, but Cadee could only discern the wind in her ears and feel the complete stretch and lunge of her body. It was so freeing, so indescribable. And then it was over and she was landing in tuck on the next rooftop. Cadee turned around to see Alek, Jasmine, and Chloe all pushed up against the rooftop rim, each of them open-mouthed.

"Oh. My. God! That was amazing!" Chloe shouted to her and Cadee's brows furrows as she tried to catch her breath.

"Why would you do that?" Alek shouted, his body vibrating in anger.

Jasmine said nothing and Cadee shrugged.

"You cut me and it hurt. You said to run," Cadee pointed out, leaning against the ledge of the rooftop with both arms. "And you didn't say we had to stay on the same rooftop."

Chloe laughed and even Jasmine cracked an amused smile, but Alek continued to look at her like he was ready to fillet her.

"Get back over here. We still have two weapons to do," Alek finally said. "And use the fire escapes, for goddess's sake."

By the time she was back with them on the other rooftop, Cadee's breathing was back to normal, but her shoulder hurt like a six on a scale of ten.

"I've never even jumped that far," Cadee heard Chloe whispering to Jasmine. They were on the other side of the roof, but that didn't seem to matter.

"I know," Jasmine said.

"But don't you think it's weird she can do that? I mean, I wouldn't even try," Chloe said.

"I'll talk to my mom about it. I think there is going to be a lot of things we are going to have to learn about Cadee," Jasmine said again.

"How much does it hurt?" Alek suddenly said, coming into her line of sight and interrupting the whispered conversation. His fingertips brushed against the cut and Cadee hissed, batting his hand away and then wincing as it jarred her wound even more.

"A lot," Cadee said. She wanted to just go home, take a long, hot bath, finish her stupid science homework, and go to bed.

Alek looked aggravated, but he gently pulled her to sit on top of one of the mini crate towers and poured a fresh bottle of water over the cut. Cadee's nails dug into the crate she sat on, chipping it, and panted when Alek began wrapping it with gauze. They had a first aid kit ready. Wonder why, Cadee thought sarcastically and she bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop form crying out.

"It's a mild graze. It'll heal up fine. Not even a scar," Alek promised.

They moved on to the ball weights, which turned out to be like playing a game of fetch. Alek would through a medium size ball that weighed about twenty pounds, and Cadee had the job of anticipating when and where he would throw it, and do her best to leap into action and catch it. Her shoulder throbbed more and more each time she caught the dang thing, and Cadee was huffing and puffing just like Chloe by the time they switched to Manriki chains.

Like the staffs, they used the Manriki chains against each other. Between the weight of the heavy, black metal chains and the wrist weights, Cadee had a hard time moving her arms quickly. Alek kept wrapping his chain around her uninjured arm which was beating it sore.

After the third time the pendulous chain weight slapped around her elbow, Cadee had had enough.

"Ow!" Cadee shouted and with two hands she grabbed Alek's chain, dropping hers and tugged it free from his hands and unwound it from her arm before tossing it off the roof.

"Hey!" Alek yelled, running to glance over the rooftop to see where it had landed before turning his glare on Cadee.

Throwing her arms up in the air, Cadee made a noise of exasperation and pulled off her wrist weights.

"I'm done! I'm tired, I'm hurt, and I still have to go home and do homework. Plus, if I don't leave soon my mother is going to get home and I'll be busted – again."

It was a relief having those awful torture devices off her wrists and Cadee watched Jasmine and Chloe come to a stop too. They joined her and Alek as she got in her face.

"Do you want to live to see another day? Do you want to be able to protect yourself? Because when the Order comes for you, and they will, you'll be as defenseless at that kitten of yours," Alek said, his face inches from Cadee's.

"Yeah? And why would they come for me? I'm a nobody. Chloe's the Uniter, so yeah, she has to be here, but me? You know what? I'm done. I am so over trying to please everybody else in my life. Get over yourself, Alek. I'm out of here," Cadee shouted back and she shoved him away from her and took off the way they had arrived, heading back in the direction of her home.

"Cadee wait!" Chloe called, but Cadee had had enough for one night.

One minute she was a normal, human girl. Now she was expected to be some super-chick with magic powers and apparently the pain tolerance of a saint. Well Cadee had enough screwed up things going on in her life, she didn't need to add cat people and their killers to her list of worries.

When Cadee finally walked through her apartment door, she found her mother sitting on the couch drinking a glass of wine, the bottle on the table in front of her. Not good. Very, very bad. Mia Fallin had kicked drinking as a habit a couple years back; she had been dangerously close to being an alcoholic after Cadee's dad left, and the only time she pulled out a bottle of the trusty old red was when she was stressed out passed the point of rational thinking.

"Where were you?" her mom asked, and Cadee heard the subtle traces of anger in her voice.

"I, um, went to work out. I lost track of time," Cadee said and she bit her lip when her mother just sat staring into her wine glass, nodding. "I'm sorry." Another nod. "It won't happen again."

"You're right. It won't. Because, Cadee, I've put up with a lot from you the last week and a half, but sneaking out and hiding things is not going to be one of them. You are grounded until further notice. Either your brother or myself will be dropping you off and picking up from school from now on. You will get a real job and start paying rent. Maybe you need some responsibility around here. I haven't decided if you will be allowed to continue volunteering at the animal shelter," Mia said, eyes finally looking up at Cadee, mouth puckered in barely contained anger.

Cadee felt her eyes water and her mouth quiver, and she wanted to yell and scream and say something defiant, but she couldn't. Not when her mom was like this. Not when she couldn't really explain why she was hiding things, why she was "sneaking out". Refusing to cry in front of her mother, Cadee nodded.

"Go to your room. I left you vegetarian pizza. It's been there for about two hours so it's cold now," her mom said, and Cadee didn't say anything, just left.

It occurred to Cadee as she walked down the hallway to her room that her mom was home early, especially if she had bought pizza two hours ago, but she wasn't exactly in a position to ask why or how. Tears started to slip down her face when she opened her door and she found Jade sitting on her bed waiting for her, the pizza cold and untouched on her nightstand. Ignoring everything else, Cadee closed her door and dropped down on the bed and buried her face in Jade's fur as she cried.

"Everything is so hard," Cadee complained, letting Jade's purrs comfort her. "I just want to be me again."

"You keep wishing for the impossible," Alek said, appearing through her bedroom window.

Cadee jerked upright, cradling Jade in her arms, and she sniffled, wiping her tears away.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get up here?" Cadee whispered angrily.

"I'm your protector now. And if you insist on being stubborn and not training, then you better get used to my presence," Alek said, but it wasn't harsh. He was looking at her with something akin to regret, and Cadee looked away – she did not want pity. "Your mum was kind of hard on you."

Shrugging, Cadee kissed Jade's head and mumbled, "She can be. We're having trouble making ends meet and I haven't exactly been able to tell her the truth."

"And you never can," Alek said suddenly, sharply, and Cadee glared up at him. "Even if you want to, you can't. Our secret is more important than anything else. Besides the fact you'd be risking the Order finding you faster, you would be putting your entire family in danger."

Letting go of Jade, Cadee stood up and crossed her arms, getting in Alek's personal bubble.

"You think I'm stupid? You think that because I don't want this I don't understand it's happening anyway? My whole life is completely screwed up now. Just, leave me alone. Just, go away," Cadee whispered furiously and she pushed him back toward the window – tears blurring her eyes.

The look on his face was pensive and sincere and when Alek grabbed Cadee and pulled her into his chest, she let him. He started petting her like she had pet Jade, but it was so calming, Cadee just breathed.

"It'll get easier," Alek promised and then he was gone. He slipped out her window and when Cadee stuck her head out, she saw him down below on the street in a crouch. He looked

back up at her and Cadee sniffled again.

"Goodnight," Cadee whispered and she saw him nod. Alek was such a conundrum, and even though she had told him to leave her alone, Cadee wished he was still holding her. He smelled so good, it was like aromatherapy, and his arms felt safe.

Sighing, Cadee dropped down at her desk and pulled open her backpack. She finished her homework ASAP and flopped into bed beside Jade. If she was going job hunting tomorrow, she was going to need all the sleep she could get.

_**A/N:**_ Thank you all so much for your reviews. School started three days ago so this was the soonest I could get an update up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to hear your thoughts. EK!


	6. Chapter 6

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Six**

Cadee sighed as she stood in front of the bathroom shelves and meticulously priced, labeled, and shelved the products from their designated boxes. She had been working at the Everything Emporium for four days and already she could see a pattern – perpetual boredom. Somehow her mother had arranged for a job interview the very next day after their fight, and Cadee had found herself a "proud" member of the Everything Emporium superstore chain. She stocked, she inventoried, and she punched the clock from four o'clock to nine o'clock every day after school. Thankfully, Mia had been feeling magnanimous enough to let Cadee continue volunteering at the local animal shelter on weekends – Cadee had no illusions that this was for her benefit, it was just another way for her mother to know where she was at all times.

It seemed that Alek and the others had chosen to keep their distance since Cadee's minor breakdown during training. Chloe had approached her once, but when Cadee had cold shouldered her, the Uniter had backed down. Alek still seemed to be everywhere she was, always lurking just out of the corner of her eye. And even though Cadee had asked for the distance, she found it as annoying as it might have been peaceful.

"Don't forget to smile, Cadee. Our customers expect a smile with their service," Marty shouted down at her from his position on the high reaching ladder. Marty was Cadee's new boss, and he was also a big pain in the butt. Mid-forties, balding, and science geek-esque, Marty McIntosh was the epitome of overkill cheeriness and the two-year-running employee of the month.

Cadee plastered a fake smile on her lips and grinned up at him while she viciously punched out price labels and jabbed them on the products she was shelving. What was the point in making her smile when she wasn't helping a customer, running a cash register, or even in the general vicinity of another person except her overly perky boss?

A half an hour passed before Cadee got the okay to break for lunch, and with a much relieved sigh, she chucked the price gun into a bin in the backroom and pulled off her apron – stuffing it in her locker in exchange for her brownbag.

Jogging out the back door and down to the coffee shop on the corner of downtown Main Street, Cadee plopped down in a seat under one the bright yellow, table umbrellas.

"Same as yesterday?" a voice asked from behind her and Cadee turned to see Vince, the cute waiter who always seemed to be around when Cadee had a lunch. She had taken to sitting at the café every day since she started at EE and she always ordered a non-fat, soy chai tea latte.

"Yes please," Cadee said, a genuine smile spreading across her lips.

Vince was the kind of cute that usually went unnoticed. He had amber brown hair, coal brown eyes, and a strong nose and defined jaw with a forehead that might seem too big on someone else. She had never seen him outside of his work uniform – black tee, tan pants, and a red and white apron – but Cadee had the distinct feeling he was a skateboarder; he just never seemed to want to sit still and he leaned on things all the time, like James Dean in still shots.

"Here you go," Vince said, placing her drink in front of her as she pulled out her pita salad and a small bag of cherries.

"Thanks. How are you?" Cadee asked, making conversation as she sipped at the hot drink – it was always extra delicious.

His eyes twinkled and for the first time she met him, Vince dropped down in the seat across from her.

"Bored. Until now. Same thing every day, ya know? What about you? How's working as a "prestigious member" of the Everything Emporium?" Vince asked, leaning back casually in his seat.

Rolling her eyes, Cadee shrugged, "Same thing every day, ya know?" She winked at him playfully and he laughed.

"So what do you do when you aren't working?" Vince asked, crossing his arms comfortably, even when another waitress walked by and muttered something at him.

"Not much lately. School, work, and I volunteer on weekends at the animal shelter near here," Cadee said, eating slowly, trying to draw out her time as much as possible. It was nice to talk to Vince, it felt normal.

"Do you volunteer all weekend?" Vince asked, leaning forward a little.

Cadee smiled, "No. I work Saturday and Sunday from nine to five. It's nice, everybody there really cares about animals and I'm not the only vegetarian around."

Nodding his head, Vince leaned back again, glanced around at his tables, and then pulled out his order pad, looking back at her, "Would you maybe want to go out Saturday night? I'd say we could meet up for coffee, but working here had kind of cured me of my caffeine addiction."

Cadee laughed and nodded, "I would love too. But…well I got to clear it with my mom first."

"That's cool. Here, give me your digits and I'll call you about it," Vince said, casually sliding his order pad across the table to her and Cadee blushed as she scribbled her name and number on the pad. He was so relaxed about the whole thing, and it made her wonder if he did this sort of thing all the time. "Cool. I gotta get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow, Cadee."

And then he was up and out of the seat across from her, swiping empty cups and dishes from the outside bistro tables and taking refill orders as he went. It was a little soon to be dating after the whole Troy thing, but if going out with Vince meant getting away from her mom for the night, well Cadee wasn't about to say no to some freedom.

"Don't you think that's a bit careless?" Alek suddenly said, dropping down into the seat that Vince had just vacated.

Popping another cherry into her mouth, Cadee tried not to let his sudden nearness affect her – which only worked halfway. Ever since he had hugged her Cadee hadn't been able to stop thinking about the feel of his arms around her, or the fact that he had been so nice to her. But he also hadn't spoken to her in four days – but that had been what she asked for.

"What's careless?" Cadee said, taking another big drink from her cup.

"Going on a date with that human," Alek said, his tone harsh, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We're going on a date, it's not the end of the world," Cadee said, daring to meet his eyes as they burned holes in her. The look was scorching and Cadee gulped and finished off her salad pocket with averted eyes.

"One kiss, just one, and he's dead. Careless, get it?" Alek asked, leaning over the table, imposing on her personal space, and Cadee fought back the urge to lean away from him.

"So I won't kiss him," Cadee said.

The idea that her kiss was deadly seemed far-fetched, a bad cliché of kiss-me-deadly, but then Cadee had experienced far weirder things lately. Just this morning when she was in the shower getting ready for school her foot had slipped on the tiles and somehow she had ended up clinging to the curtain pole, one leg braced against the whitewash wall and the other curled around the curtain rod. And the other day, when she first got her job at EE, she had missed a step coming down the employee staircase in the backroom from the top lockers and somehow ended up jumping down the whole length without missing a beat. To say life was getting more and more peculiar was an understatement.

Running an agitated hand through his hair, Alek gave her a hard look, "And what if you forget? For just one second he leans in a puts his smarmy hands on you and kisses you? What then? Then you are left with a corpse and you'll come crying to me 'cause your mum sure won't understand."

Huh, his accent gets thicker when he's annoyed, Cadee thought. She would have laughed, or maybe even smiled if he didn't sound so serious.

"First off, he's not smarmy – whatever that means. And second of all, I'm not that easy," Cadee said, standing and tossing the rest of her lunch in the black trash bin nearby before turning to leave in a slightly dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, Alek was very good at keeping pace.

"Look, Chloe thought she could have a human boyfriend too, and then he tried to kiss her, and again, and each time all she did was alienate the guy, and almost kill him. You like this bloke? Fine, like him, make googly eyes at him on your lunch breaks, but don't date him. It's a mistake and I'm telling you now so you won't have to make it before you get hurt," Alek ranted, jumping in front of her when Cadee planned to put on the speed and run off. It was irritating how he always seemed to sense when she was going to do something.

"I don't make googly eyes," Cadee muttered, but a small part of her was agreeing with Alek. What he was saying was making sense, but… "Are you sure you aren't just jealous?"

Alek scoffed, literally scoffed!, in her face and Cadee huffed again.

"Of a human? Not likely."

"You know what? Get lost, Alek. These last four days have been paradise without you," Cadee lied, hoping the dig hit home, and then she did an impressive full body flip right over him, and kept walking. Cadee wasn't sure where she had learned her acrobatics the last few days, but the more time went by, the more Cadee found herself to do things on a whim, without a thought, born of pure instinct.

"Now that was impressive," Alek called after her as Cadee pushed into the backroom of EE in time to punch back in from her lunch break.

"You're late," Marty announced when Cadee came out and went back to her station. "One minute and twenty-five seconds. You know Cadee, I expect better of you. You're mother made it clear to me that you were eager to learn a new craft. You are learning the ins and outs of a very important trade, I thought you'd be a little more appreciative, missy."

"I'm sorry, Marty, won't happen again," Cadee said, and she rolled her eyes once she was facing the newly stacked boxes waiting at the end of the aisle. God, it was a minute and a half and he acted like she had committed some egregious crime.

The rest of her shift passed on in monotonous repetition before she was waiting on the curb to be picked up. She waited and she waited and when the clock hit nine thirty, Cadee had had enough of waiting. Cadee started walking in the amber streetlight and she kicked at the ground angrily. This is why she needed her car – her mother was flighty, her brother was busy, and she worked until well after dark.

As she turned the corner onto the next street, the hairs on the back of her next stood up and Cadee froze. Nothing had been out of place when she left work, but the feeling she wasn't alone came over her in a flash. Her eyes turned to slits and everything grew brighter around her. The shadows took on new meaning and her skin crawled with the itchy need to run. Out of the corner of her right eye, Cadee caught movement and it was enough to thaw her paralysis and send her into a full on sprint.

The air by her left ear whistled and Cadee jerked to the right, narrowly avoiding something sharp that thudded into the cement crevice of a nearby building. Alarmed, Cadee jumped up onto the nearest car roof and took off, jumping over hoods, roofs, and trunks, hurtling the spaces between, and trying to twist and turn in unplanned patterns to throw off her attacker.

As she hit the roof of the twelfth car, Cadee saw her newest problem – there was not thirteenth car or fourteenth or fifteenth – three car spaces separated her from her next jump. Taking a leap of faith, Cadee flew through an intersection, over the tops of speeding cars and landing in a crouch on the nearest vehicle. That's when the next problem presented itself – this car was occupied – and moving.

Cadee fought the nausea that came over her as the car pulled away from the curb and turned into traffic. She saw the person who had been pursuing her, it was a man camouflaged in dark clothing, a hood up around his face, but the glint of metal in his hand was unobstructed. Thankfully the car started driving away from the hooded man, but Cadee had to hit the roof fast when he threw another of his weapons in her direction. It whizzed overhead and Cadee only had a second to realize the car had come to a stop at a streetlight before she jumped to the next car roof to her right. Three hops and she was back on concrete and running for her life.

A building up ahead had a side ladder and Cadee scaled it expediently. It was as she crested the building's rooftop that she felt it – pain, sharp and zinging, shot up her left leg. She dropped over the side and hit the tiled ground. Gasping, Cadee pulled at her pants leg and jerked out a dart. It was feathered and larger than she would have expected and her calf was going numb. As she went to stand, Cadee fell back, her whole body started to seize and her chest tightened.

"Help!" Cadee screamed, "Alek!"

The sound of someone scuttling up the ladder had Cadee using her upper-arm strength to pull her backward towards one of the silver, cylindrical exhaust fans that whirred away as she crawled. The hooded face appeared up over the lip of the roof and dropped down on steady feet. When he saw her, clutching her leg and crawling, he dropped his hood and Cadee winced at the sight of him. He had jagged scars along his pale face, one ear missing, and the kind of grin that made others grimace. The look in his eyes made her sense go haywire, and Cadee moved more frantically. The numbness in her leg was slowly making its way up her body and Cadee fought to keep her eyes from closing and to maintain her haggard breathing. Something was very wrong.

"Alek!" Cadee screamed again, louder, and her back hit one of the fans.

"Screaming for a mate? Oh, or maybe a guardian?" The man's voice was so normal it didn't fit with the rest of him and Cadee shuddered. Her eyes were starting to go back to normal, the uniquely Mai sharpness fading.

"Help!" Cadee shouted, but it was softer, her throat was going numb too.

The assassin drew closer, smiling that creepy smile, as he drew out a long, curved sword. Cadee tried to pull herself back further, but her arms were like led only able to lift out in front of her- trying to ward him off.

"I'm surprised you're still awake, most of your kind would be too numb to speak," he said it like a question, like a puzzle that didn't click into place just right.

"Alek," Cadee said, her voice barely above average. Her eyes were quivering with the weight of the lids, trying to keep them open. "Help."

"Alek, hm, that's a name I know. Unfortunately, I don't think he's coming," said the man and he crouched just beside her, one strong hand grabbing her jaw in a clenching hold as he turned her face up to see him.

Cadee grabbed the hand holding her and felt her nails unsheathe, digging barely just-so into his wrists. He growled at her, and Cadee shivered, hissing when his fingers tightened on her jaw.

"Play nice kitty, or I might just gut you too fast – and I wouldn't enjoy that at all," the man whispered and Cadee's eyes rolled into her head. The world was fading fast and the words the assassin spoke dulled in her ears as Cadee tried to keep her claws out.

_"Cadee, focus. Focus, Cadee. Listen to me, hear my voice, feel me inside you. Now strike. Strike!" _

Jolting into wakefulness, Cadee followed the voice in her head and hissed out a warning before she lunged. Her whole body broke from the numbness and her claws came out to full length, a startling six inches, before they dug into her assailant's chest. The knife he had been holding in sadistic playfulness to her throat dropped as he screamed, startled, and Cadee was on top of him. Her right knee dug into the soft belly flesh beneath it, her claws digging furrows of blood and flesh in his chest, and she bared sharp teeth at his neck, just barely holding back her bite. With pummeling fist she jabbed him, her nails raking over him, making his chest resemble confetti paper in rivets of red blood. Her ears hurt with the supersensitive awareness of night, and her eyes made out every white line on his face.

"Cadee stop!" shouted Alek from behind her and hands came to hold her from behind, lifting her away from the now stilled man.

As quickly as the killer focus had come over her, Cadee collapsed back into Alek – a sigh leaving her. Her limbs relaxed and her body slumped.

"Is she okay?" came Jasmine's voice from where she knelt suddenly beside the still man.

"I'm fine," Cadee whispered, but the warm wet feel of blood on her hands and the ringing command in her ears made her limp in Alek's arms.

"She's in shock," Alek said, and his arms drew her to his chest, he stood and took her with him – an arm scooping under her knee to secure her to his chest. "Is he dead?"

Cadee opened her eyes, she didn't know when she had closed them, and saw Jasmine nodding gravely. "Yes."

Closing her eyes again, Cadee's stomach lurched. She had killed someone.

"Kill or be killed, love," Alek whispered in her ear, and Cadee shivered. She felt them moving, but the adrenaline had drained from her body and when she next opened her eyes she was in her bedroom, cleaned up and tucked into bed.

Alek and Jasmine stood on either side of her bed, arms crossed, to sentient guards watching.

With a glance at the clock, Cadee saw that it was well after eleven.

"My mom?" she asked, trying to sit up, but her whole body felt like a bruise.

Jasmine's eyes flicked to the door and back to her, "Sleeping. We got you into the bed and I came to the door with your jacket. I said I was your ride home. She fell asleep on the couch and forgot to pick you up. She was just glad you found a way home."

Alek snorted and he looked angry.

"What?" Cadee asked, but she was whispering – all she needed was for her mom to wake up and start asking questions. Or Daylin.  
>"You almost died tonight because she forgot to pick you up and took a nap," Alek said, his tone harsh.<p>

"She doesn't know what kind of danger is out there, Alek," Cadee defended, groaning when she brushed a hand along her jaw – it hut.

"It is nighttime and you were left to your own defenses. Even if you didn't have assassins coming after you, when is it smart for a girl to be out alone at night?" Alek asked, rolling his eyes.

"What he's trying to say, is he was worried. We both were. You should have called us to give you a ride," Jasmine explained, smiling amusedly at her cousin. There interaction was so familiar it made Cadee smile.

"I thought Alek was watching me," Cadee said. It wasn't an accusation, just a fact – Alek flinched all the same.

"I was watching you. I stop at a bathroom for two minutes and you're gone," Alek said, running his hands through his hair again in frustration. He seemed to do that a lot around her, Cadee thought.

"I'm not blaming you," Cadee said and she winced when she shifted and the pain in her leg radiated upward.

"What's wrong?" Jasmine asked, coming to kneel beside the bed while Alek's whole body flinched.

"My leg. It hurts," Cadee said, pushing off the covers to find she dressed in a tank top and pajama pants. "Who changed me?"

"I did," Jasmine said, "but I didn't see anything on your leg."

"By my ankle. I got hit with a dart," Cadee explained, lifting the pant leg to show them a small scratch where the dart had skimmed up her calf and dug into her ankle.

"The dart hit you?" Jasmine asked, eyes widening in alarm. "How did you stay awake?"

Cadee shrugged and met Alek's eyes, "I didn't. I went under, but…I heard a voice. I think it was Baset – she woke me up. She told me to attack."

"The goddess spoke to you? Again?" Jasmine asked, surprise evident in her voice. Her eyes turned guarded as she and Alek exchanged meaningful looks, and Cadee dropped her pant leg back down.

"Yeah. It happens. Look, I'm still really tired…and I…killed someone tonight. I think I need to process. Can we talk tomorrow at school?" Cadee asked, a yawn escaping.

Jasmine nodded and headed for the window. She dropped through it like it was nothing and Cadee fought off the chill of alarm. Alek remained.

"Um, Alek, I meant you too," Cadee said, biting her lip and fidgeting.

"Do you believe me now? You need to train, Cadee. You could have died tonight. Things could have easily gone a different way," Alek said, his voice intense as he leaned in toward her, arms caging her against the mattress, his breath teasing her face.

"Yeah. I get it. One dead body equals reality check, okay. Can we do this tomorrow? My body aches and I'm tired," Cadee said, turning her head to the side to stare at the wall.

His lips brushed her cheek and Cadee's face snapped up to face him as he pulled away.

"Tomorrow then. Get some sleep, you'll be safe. I'll be here," Alek said, backing up to the window and then he dropped through it too.

So much for normal.

_**A/N:**_ Thank you guys so much for your awesome reviews. Sorry it took me so long to update. The new semester at the college has started up and I've been working more hours too. My Aunt Darlene just passed away a few days ago and I've had a lot going on. I hope you enjoyed this update. Let me know what you think. EK!


	7. Chapter 7

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Seven**

"Cadee wait up!" Chloe shouted from the other end of the school hallway.

Cadee glanced over her shoulder to see the strawberry blond barreling down the hall top speed, slinking through gaps in the crowd and passed an irritated looking Amy. Slowing to a stop, Cadee waited patiently for Chloe to catch up to her. It had been a week since the incident with the assassin, and Cadee had woken up the next morning with a new attitude to the whole Mai situation. Clearly she couldn't change what she was, so the next best thing was just to accept it and move on. Since then, Cadee had taken to sitting with Chloe on a regular basis, and the more she saw of the Uniter, the more she wanted to be around her.

"Hey. I called your house this morning, but your brother said you were already gone. My mom finally got me a car! And not just any car, the car. I was gonna swing by and pick you up. We should carpool," Chloe said at blurring speed, barely breathing between thoughts.

"That's awesome. I just kind of wanted to get out. I've laid low this past week and my mom's not all over me. Other than sneaking out to train with you guys, I've been shuttled to school, to work, and then back to my house – then repeat. I feel like I need to take a deep breath and just break out," Cadee said, strolling beside Chloe as they aimlessly walked the halls.

Chloe snorted, "Tell me about it. All I keep getting at home is how my mom wants me to do better in school, spend more time with her, and cut everything else out. Except Amy and Paul – the besties get constant visiting privileges. Did I tell you Lana cut my hours at the store? We should do something together. I mean, that is if you aren't too busy ducking Alek." Chloe gave Cadee a pointed look and Cadee rolled her eyes and tried her damnedest not to blush.

Things with Alek had been disconcerting since the incident, to say the least. He had harangued her the day after into letting him or Jasmine take her everywhere she went. They showed up to walk with her school, because she refused to ride with them and draw further attention to Alek when her mom was around, and then to work and then from work to home. The Everything Emporium staff probably knew their faces as well as they knew Cadee's by now. Not to mention every time Cadee stepped out for her lunch break at the café, Alek always seemed to magically appear and drive off any attempts at conversation Vince tried to make with Cadee. There was this weird unspoken tension thing going on that Cadee had decided just to ignore, and in doing so she treated Alek like a piece of wallpaper – she saw him, but paid him very little mind.

"I'm not ducking Alek. I'm just…trying to get used to everything," Cadee mumbled. A classroom door swung open in front of Chloe, who stood two steps ahead of Cadee, and Cadee reacted on instinct. Her leg kicked out and slammed the door backward, and one hand curled around Chloe's bicep and twirled her back away toward the row of blue lockers.

A muffled curse from the other side of the door and the sound of something going crunch had Cadee snapping back to reality. Chloe had stopped herself short of rebounding off the lockers and turned an incredulous stare on Cadee who shrugged sheepishly. Her weird Mai reflexes had been in overdrive since her near death, and Cadee had been going with the flow.

"Son of a –" someone stuttered out in a congested tone of voice and the door reopened to show Troy. His nose was bleeding rivers and his eyes were already starting to swell shut, one hand plugged his nose and the other clutched tightly on Perry's shoulder. When she saw him, Cadee froze. "You! You did this?" It came out sounding muffled and accusatory, his hand left his nose for a second and more blood gushed out before he slapped it back in place to stop the bleeding, followed by a yelp.

"It was an accident. You were about to hit Chloe with the door," Cadee said, and Chloe came to her side.

"She was on the other side of the hallway!" Troy shouted. Perry nodded and frowned, but he stayed silent. In fact, he wouldn't even look at Cadee and it hurt in a way – knowing that they used to be friends until her break up with Troy.

"Not when you came slamming out of the classroom she wasn't," Cadee hissed back, over her stunned state. She was so not up for this melodrama before her first class. She hadn't even had anything to eat before she left this morning, she was hoping to dodge both Alek and Jasmine and get some time to run by herself. Besides, who attacked someone in broad daylight during morning traffic?

"You are such a bitch. Any excuse to get back at me for not wanting you anymore," Troy exclaimed.

"I hate to break it to you, Troy, but you are just not worth that much effort, or consideration. Just go to the nurse, you big baby," Cadee said, letting her resentment and frustration bubble up to viciousness.

"Wow, and I used to think you were nice," Perry commented, speaking for the first time.

"I'm sorry I hit you with the stupid door," Cadee said as a qualifier. Chloe let out a tittering laugh beside her and Cadee bit her lip to stop from doing the same. This whole situation was ridiculous. "You should tilt your head back."

"Fuck you," Troy said cruelly, shoving passed her and his elbow almost colliding with Chloe's chest if Cadee hadn't, yet again, pulled her back in time.

"You seem to get into a lot of trouble trying to save me," Chloe noted when they resumed walking. The bell was due to ring at any moment, but Cadee just sighed.

"What are friends for?" Cadee asked with a smile and the bell chose that moment to ring. Kids started to scuttle about and slam lockers shut with promises to meet up at lunch. It felt nice to banter with someone who could relate.

"You are, you know?" Chloe said, stopping outside Cadee's first hour.

"I am what?" Cadee asked, distracted when she saw an angry looking Alek headed their way.

"My friend. I mean it, Cadee. I'm really glad the goddess chose you," Chloe said and Cadee met her eyes and smiled her first genuine smile in what felt like a very long time.

"Thanks. You too. But I see an angry Mai boy headed our way, and I'm going to just slip into my seat before he has the chance to give me an earful. See you at lunch?" Cadee said, edging foot by foot further into the classroom, peeking out the corner of her eye as Alek zeroed in on them.

Chloe laughed loudly, "Okay. See you later, Chicken Little."

"I'm part cat not part chicken," Cadee returned impishly, and then turned tail and raced to her seat. She watched as Alek and Chloe had a whispered argument just outside the door, and she definitely didn't miss the glare Alek shot her before stalking off. Chloe winked at her and waved before departing, and moments later the late bell rang.

"You're going to fall," Amy said from below her, sitting in the grass at the base of the tree trunk. Chloe, Amy, and Paul had chosen to sit outside for lunch, just this once, because Cadee had insisted. The sun was out, the sky was clear, and it just felt like a day for freedom. She had managed to avoid Alek since spotting him in the hall earlier that morning, despite her protests of ducking him to Chloe, and now she was walking a thin-but-sturdy tree branch behind the football field's end zone; her avocado veggie sandwich and diet berry tea forgotten in her backpack down below.

"Cat like reflexes ringing any bells?" Cadee called, laughing when Paul said something about cat people and being "so freaking cool" it wasn't funny. But, of course, it was.

"Do a cartwheel and I'll be really impressed," Chloe teased. She had had her head stuck in her science book since the start of lunch because of some big test she just couldn't fail, or her mom would go "all parental" on her and nobody wanted that.

"The branch isn't long enough," Cadee rejoined, laughing back. "Bet I could do a back flip though."

"That's not safe or inconspicuous behavior," Jasmine said, suddenly appearing around the thick tree trunk, her eyes on Cadee and her face stern.

"I was going for carefree," Cadee said, rolling her eyes and grabbing the branch above her head and pulling herself higher.

"Isn't there some stereotype about cats being stuck in trees? Am I going to need to call the fire department to get you down?" Chloe called up, finally closing her book now that Jasmine had shown up.

"Only if he's really hot with a six pack," Cadee shouted, her voice sending several nesting birds flying.

"Someone talking about me?" Alek asked, appearing on a lower branch of the tree underneath Cadee's precariously perched form.

"I don't think I said egotistical know-it-all, did I Chloe?" Cadee asked loudly and she was met by several laughs, including Jasmine.

"Nope!" Chloe said, still laughing.

"Very funny, King. So tell me, Cadee, what were you thinking this morning?" Alek asked, lying back on the branch below like it was a bed rather than a spindly, wooden tree limb.

"That I was having a bad hair day. False alarm," Cadee said innocently. She was smirking even though he couldn't see it, and she did a quick petit jete, keeping her balance just so.

"It's not safe to go running around by yourself. Or have you forgotten last week?" Alek said, bypassing her comment altogether. He had grown used to, if not secretly fond of, her prickly sense of humor.

It was as if storm clouds had rolled in on Cadee's day, her mood plummeting, and she hissed angrily before dropping from her branch to the earthen ground, the soles of her feet digging into bright, green grass.

"No, I haven't. But thanks for the reminder, I was having a good day for a while there; don't worry, you fixed that," Cadee snarked and then dropped sullenly beside Chloe into an Indian sit. She pulled her backpack in between her crossed legs and started to munch on her lunch.

A faint sigh resonated from above and Cadee tried to ignore that guilty tug that said Alek was right, which meant he was only trying to protect her, which meant she should be nicer.

"I want to go out to a club," Chloe announced, breaking the awkward tension that ensued, and her infectious smile spread to Amy, then Paul, and finally Cadee.

"It's harder to watch you two in a large crowd," Jasmine informed. Cadee liked Jasmine, really, but sometimes she was a buzz kill.

"But the two of you would be there," Chloe pointed out.

"Only if Cadee's going. Alek has to watch her," Jasmine reminded.

"Then I guess he'll be there," Cadee interrupted, and Chloe gave her a radiant smile.

"Do I get a vote?" Alek asked, finally coming down to join them.

"Only if you are going to say yes," Cadee told him, not meeting his eyes.

His warm presence surrounded her, and Cadee found herself looking into his eyes, his arm slung around her shoulders, and his legs crossed out in front of him. "Okay. Yes."

"Alek," Jasmine said, but even she had a glint in her eyes. She wanted to break loose too, even if her Mai training was saying to do the smart thing, not the fun thing. Wisdom be damned.

"Don't worry, Jas, Aunt Val is going out of town this weekend anyway. We'll just do double training the next night," Alek reassured her.

Cadee and Chloe exchanged eye rolls, but the atmosphere lightened.

"We totally need to go shopping," Amy exclaimed, she had been holding still letting the Mai's work it out because she didn't want to get her hopes up if they decided not to go. She missed her best friend, and it had been so long since they had done something fun and normal. "Paul, what size shirt do you wear?"

"Oh no, I will not be your Ken doll. I have a perfectly good collection of tee shirts at home," Paul said and Cadee felt Alek's chest rumble with laughter beside her.

A small part of her brain acknowledged how nice it was to have this, a group again, a better one, and how nice it felt to be pressed up against Alek. Part of her, the logical part, said she should pull away and not get attached. Her Troy break up was still new, and she really thought Vince was a sweet guy, and Alek was her protector/Mai guide – they were all very good reasons to not let the tingle of his touch affect her. But that was like telling the sun to go away for a few more hours when the alarm clock goes off in the morning. It was just not going to happen.

"What time do you get off work at EE on Friday, Cadee?" Chloe asked.

"Six. My mom's working late and Daylin has some new girlfriend, so they won't be home. You guys want to meet at my place and get ready?" Cadee asked.

Alek took the opportunity to swipe her homemade potato chips, but she let it go. She blamed it on his arm which was making her smile a little too bright and feel warm all over.

"I'm down," Chloe said, looking at Jasmine who nodded.

"Me too," Amy agreed, but she was too busy pouting at a sullen looking Paul – oh he was gonna cave.

"These are very good," Alek whispered in her ear, and his warm breath curled around the outer-shell of her ear and sent goose bumps and shivers racing down her spine. His tone of voice always seemed to hold some sexual undertone, and some newer, foreign part of Cadee preened at the attention, even when she outwardly snatched back her chips and contritely scolded him.

"And they are my lunch, thank you very much," Cadee said, not turning to face him. His lips were too close to her face, and far too tempting.

"Sharing is caring," Alek recited.

"And I care because?" Cadee asked sarcastically, but she didn't fight him when he reached for the bag again. She didn't even want the chips anymore.

The bell rang in the distance and the distance hustle and bustle of school reached her ears. The football team had midday practice next, and it would only be a matter of time before they swarmed the field. Apparently, the school team had a big game coming up this weekend. Cadee knew because she was part of the band and they had double practice before school every day this week.

"Adios," Paul shouted, tugging a still-whining Amy along with him.

"I have that science exam next. Wish me luck. If I don't pass it, I doubt our plans will matter to my mom," Chloe said and she waved.

"Are you skipping class?" Jasmine asked, and for a moment Cadee thought she meant her, but Alek responded.

"No. I have gym soon and the basketball coach is choosing rank for the next basketball game," Alek told her and Cadee jerked to her feet. She had forgotten for just a little while exactly who Alek was. He was a jock, The Jock, the one who cheerleaders followed, other jocks trailed, and the guy who was considered as good as gold at their high school. It was weird to reconcile that image of him with the Mai she knew him to be, but Cadee took the reminder as a wakeup call.

"I gotta jet. Bye Jasmine. See you, Alek," Cadee said in a rush and she took off at a bolt, leaving the two cousins in her wake.

Sometime during her last class, Cadee's mind started to drift. She started to wonder what her life would be like if Troy had never broken up with her, if she had never met Chloe, if she had never gotten involved with the Mai. More and more, Cadee realized her life would have been boring, mediocre at best, and she would still be struggling to find her identity. She had always been Troy's girlfriend. Daylin's kid sister. The nice girl who played the violin. Being Mai had changed that, had changed her. She was Cadee, the Mai. Cadee the Reborn. Cadee, Baset's blessed child. She was learning how to fight; she had taken out an assassin. She hung out with geeks like Paul and Weird Amy, and quirky Chloe. She knew and frequently associated with Alek Petrov and his cool-as-a-cucumber cousin Jasmine. Nothing in her life was the same, nothing was normal, but maybe it was better. She wasn't just the girl whose dad abandoned her, whose cool older brother worked on cars and went to college, or whose mom barely held down a secretarial job at a bank.

Maybe I'm finally getting it, Cadee thought, smiling at her blank notebook paper.

The last bell of the day jarred her out of her daydreaming, and Cadee bolted. She made it to her locker in record time and was already on her way home, Alek following at a distance, when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She had a new text. It was from Vince.

_Hey hvn't really seen u in a while. U cool to hang this Fri? Maybe movie?_

Cadee bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder. Alek was gaining on her and instead of playing one of their little racing games; she waited for him to catch up.

"What's up?" He asked, meandering alongside her with an aloof air.

"How do you tell a human you can't date them without…hurting their feelings?" Cadee asked, slipping her phone into her pocket without replying.

Alek, caught off guard, shrugged. "Dunno. I'm not really good with the feelings thing. Not with human girls, anyway. With Mai girls it's pretty straight forward. If you're into them, you tell them and if they don't want you they tell you to back off."

Cadee gave a frustrated groan, "That doesn't help me."

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself, sorry," Alek said, shrugging again. Then he tensed beside her, "Is this about that Vince guy?"

Cadee didn't meet his eyes and bit her lip, "Maybe. I get it, you know. No human/Mai relationships, but…I like him enough not to want to hurt his feelings. It's…complicated."

"Well good," Alek said. Then he continued, realizing how he must have sounded, "That you aren't going to make things harder on yourself, I mean."

"I just –" Cadee cut off when a strange feeling overcame her. _Duck Cadee, now_, a voice whispered through her mind, and Cadee heeded the warning without a thought.

Darting forward, Cadee tackled Alek to the ground and heard the tink-tink of metal hitting concrete. Casting a look upward, Cadee saw a tall, thin, hooded figure atop a nearby building. It was another one of those assassin freaks!

"We need to get out of here," Cadee whispered in a panic.

Alek wasted no time grabbing her around the waist and hauling her up and into a sprint. The streets were congested and pushing through the amassed crowd was like wading through molasses. They darted over a stray dresser that a pair of movers had set down outside a security code accessible building, swung wide around a woman and her double baby stroller, and nearly got hit by a bicyclist. As Alek whipped around a corner near the intersection, the flow of traffic picked up.

They made it to the sidewalk beside the heavily trafficked intersection and Cadee noted the way Alek's head turned to and fro, surveying the layout of the city. She saw a cable car heading downhill the same time he did, and Cadee knew what he was going to do before he did it. So when Alek readied to leap onto the moving vehicle, Cadee pushed off the ground too, adding to their momentum. Turning in his arms, Cadee watched over his shoulder as the figure that had followed them was lost amid the afternoon rush, and she buried her face in Alek's neck. He pulled her close in the crush of people around them, his breath coming out in pants as the adrenaline rush started to fade.

"You're okay. I've got you, Cadee," Alek whispered, one hand running down her back in a soothing motion. "You're safe."

Letting the waves of content wash over her, Cadee nodded into the juncture between his neck and shoulder, her breath lapping against his skin as her heartbeat came down. He gave a gentle, almost unnoticed shudder, and Cadee smiled softly.

"You're not that bad at the feelings thing," Cadee whispered and his arms around her tightened.

No, Cadee's life wasn't normal anymore, but that begged a new question. What is so great about normal?

_**A/N:**_ Thank you all so much for the great reviews. I know it's been a while since I've updated. I had a death in the family, I've taken on a second job, and I'm now tutoring a high school student once a week in English, in addition to having five college classes this semester. To say I'm a little busy would be the biggest of understatements. But I have not forgotten about this fic. My updates are going to be farther apart, probably 4-6 weeks at times, but I hope you'll bare with me and keep reading. I do appreciate all the comments, and there is definitely more to come. There will be more goddess involvement, the trip to the club, a pride leader show down between Valentina and ?, and of course more Alek/Cadee moments. I can't spoil all of my surprises, but that's just to give you an idea of what's to come. Thanks again, enjoy, R&R, EK!


	8. Chapter 8

**Touch of the Goddess**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

**Author: **Egyptian Kiss

**Rating: **MA

**Summary: **As a reward for saving the Uniter, Chloe King, Cadee Fallin finds herself brought back to life by the goddess Baset, reborn as a member of the Mai race. She is faced with new challenges, superpowers, and a mate she never saw coming. Alek/OC

**Chapter Eight**

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Cadee shot up in bed, her back stiff, and her claws out at the ready as she gasped – her head snapping to her bedroom door. Sighing with a hand clutching her chest, Cadee tossed back the covers and sidestepped her backpack by the bed to pull open the door.

"What!" Cadee shouted.

Daylin, standing startled in the hallway, fist raised to knock again, smiled a goofy, 'good morning' smile. "Rise and shine. It's nine o'clock, time to get off to school."

"Nine o'clock! God, Daylin, why did you let me sleep in?" Cadee asked, spinning away from Daylin as he leaned into the doorframe to watch her shoving books into her bag.

"I thought that you could use it. You looked wiped when I tried to get you up earlier. Besides, mom left early for work and I figured we could do the big-brother-kid-sister thing and have breakfast first. It's already on the table," he said as she banged open drawers and tugged on a new shirt over her tank top; she turned to give an exasperated growl in his direction. "Come on, Cadee. We haven't talked in like weeks. Let's have a real breakfast together. I'll sign you into school later. It's a you and me day."

Cadee walked up to him and smiled, "I love that you let me sleep in and you want to take me to a breakfast we can't afford, and ditch school even though I have a test, but I also have orchestra practice and I work at EE right after last bell. And don't you have work anyway?"

Daylin scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, and then he averted his eyes to the ground. "I kind of wanted to tell you this over breakfast, but I guess now's good." He lifted his eyes to meet hers and Cadee was struck with an awful feeling, a familiar feeling, the one that said something big was going to change. "I was offered a permanent full-time position at the auto shop. I'm going to be getting paid almost double and…I'm getting my own place. I'm moving out. Next week."

All the air in her lungs rushed out and Cadee dropped her sack on the floor and the hairbrush she had clenched in the other hand dropped to her side. "What?"

"Look, I know its last minute, but I wanted to break it to you easy. Mom knows and she's been pushing me to tell you since I found out a few weeks ago. I just, I didn't want to add to everything that you've been going through since you broke up with Troy. Mom's been hard on you, you don't have your car, and then the new job at the Everything Emporium – I just didn't want to be one more bad thing on your list," Daylin explained, his warm, large hands coming up to rest on her shoulders.

The caring look in his compassionate eyes made Cadee want to scream. She wanted so badly to scream at him, to slam the door in his face, to shove his hands off her shoulders – but Daylin has always been and would always be her big brother, and he always supported her. Now she had to do that for him. Just great, Cadee thought, fighting back tears.

"I'm happy for you," Cadee murmured, eyes blurring. "I just wish I wasn't going to miss you so much. I mean, I hardly see you now and we live together. What's it going to be like when you live somewhere else? I know this is a good thing, great even, I just…I don't want you to go," Cadee whispered, a tear broke free from her eyelid and rushed down to drip off her chin.

Pulling her into his arms, Daylin whispered soft promises, "I'll always be around if you need me. I'm still going to visit at least once a week. You can come visit anytime."

Cadee nodded against his shoulder. She turned her face into his neck and breathed deeply to halt the continuous tears, and blinked rapidly out into the hall. She was losing her brother. She was going to be living all alone with their mom. First her dad, now her brother, the people she cared about just kept leaving.

"How about that breakfast?" Daylin offered as he pulled back and Cadee regained her composure.

Shaking her head, Cadee picked up her hairbrush and started brushing out the tangles. "I, uh, still have work. And I have a test in English. Thanks for the sleep in, but I have to get to class."

"Okay, that's cool. I get it. Need time for it to sink, gotcha," he said, shifting his feet uncomfortably, and then finally turning to leave.

"Hey Day?"

He turned at the waist to look back at her and stood still. "Yeah?"

"I love you. And I really am happy for you," Cadee said with a forced smile.

A smile split his lips and he nodded, "Thanks sis."

Five minutes later, Cadee was sitting in the front seat of her brother's car wondering why she hadn't agreed to skip school. By the time they arrived third period had already started and Cadee had to do the embarrassing walk of shame from the front of the class to the back as the whole class watched her arrival. Waiting for lunch was the longest hour of her life.

"Cadee!" someone called from the end of the hallway leading down to the cafeteria.

Looking up and around, Cadee spotted Chloe making a bee line for her. People seemed to sense her urgency because as Chloe walked everyone moved out of her way as she darted full tilt down the hall.

"Hi Chloe. Has anyone ever told you that you greet people like a New Yorker calls for a taxi? 'Cause you do a very good impersonation," Cadee teased and Chloe laughed heartily as they started walking to lunch together.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Jasmine told me about what happened with that assassin yesterday," Chloe said, whispering the last dramatically, with a pointed looked to punctuate the incident, her green eyes bulging for a moment.

Thinking about Alek and how his arms felt wrapped around her, Cadee felt flushed. He had been stuck to her the rest of the day, most of which they spent training, the adrenaline rush from their encounter and following chase had not worn off easily. Fear had been the wonderful motivator that finally made Cadee realize just how serious her training was, which is why she was so tired this morning when Daylin tried to wake her.  
>"I'm okay. I'm great. I'm…so freaking tired. We worked out the rest of the day and by the time I got home I was exhausted – and I still had homework. Which is why I was up until late and why my brother ended up letting me sleep in. Well that and the fact that he's getting a promotion at work and a big enough raise that he is moving out. Next week. Ugh." Cadee said, dropping into her, now, usual seat at Chloe's table where Amy and Paul were already sitting.<p>

"Wow, wow, wow, wow…wait, back up, what? Since when is Daylin moving out? I thought he stayed with you guys to help make ends meet and for school," Chloe jumped in. Her whole expression was incredulous. She and Cadee had been texting so much lately it seemed like she knew Daylin by proxy.

Nodding, Cadee rolled her eyes, "Yeah, me too. But this apartment he's getting is right near his campus and the higher-ups at his previously-crappy-job have decided to take him on full time and pay him almost double. Which means that he can afford to be out on his own. And since I have a job at Everything Emporium, and Mom has instated a rent fee, I now cover the portion of the rent which Daylin was pitching in. Which, coincidentally, has allowed for him to save up the deposit and leave faster."

"I'm so sorry. I know how much your brother means to you. But on the bright side, he can come visit and your job is kind of close to campus so maybe after you are ungrounded, you can go visit," Chloe offered up as a consolation and Cadee sighed.

"Yeah, I know, but it's not the same. I feel like, if I keep saying I'm happy for him, eventually my brain will get the message," said Cadee. She pulled out her lunch just as Amy joined in the conversation.

"That's right, the power of positive thinking. I told myself I could sing, and I did, at the coffee house," Amy said, smiling brightly, her pearly whites flashing happiness.

"Yeah, and plus, you're like a superhero. You can overcome any odds placed before you," Paul said, one hand coming out in a sweeping gesture over the table to encompass the "path before him."

"Thanks guys," Cadee said, a grin coming to her face.

"Hi Chloe. Hi Cadee," came Jasmine's voice as she appeared at the circular lunch table.

Her hair was pulled back and she had a smile on her face.

Seeing a rare Jasmine-smile stunned Cadee into momentary silence until she felt Alek fall into the only remaining chair, right next to her. Forcing herself to ignore Alek's presence for a moment. It was disconcerting how attuned she was becoming to him, knowing when he was in the general vicinity, knowing his scent – it made her feel more in touch with her Mai, her claws peeked out just at the thought.

"Hi Jasmine," said Chloe, breaking the trance Cadee had fallen into as she kept her back to Alek.

"Hi Jasmine," Cadee parroted.

"Hi," Alek whispered near her shoulder, his warm breath rolling over her shoulder and tickled her lightly.

Swallowing gently and licking her lips, Cadee turned her head to the side and found his face inches from hers as she knew she would. "Hi."

A smirk turned up one corner of his mouth and a firm hand crept around her waist, pulling her closer to the edge of her seat, his pushed up against hers, his knees locking her in on either side. Around them the volume went up and the blatant stares and whispers broke out.

"You slept in. Thanks for that, I needed a few extra hours," Alek said and eyebrows all around flew up at his statement. Jasmine gave Alek a look. Chloe reached out and smacked him. Amy blushed and giggled. Paul was smiling wide. And the rest of the student body nearby were whispering like an angry beehive.

"What can I say, you exhausted me," Cadee teased. The shock value of that statement alone made Cadee's day a little less doom-and-gloom.

Alek let out a surprised laugh that faded into chuckles, shaking his head at her. The flirtation between them varied between sarcasm and innuendos. And Cadee loved it.

"So are we on for training tonight?" Chloe whispered and Cadee groaned aloud.

"No! I'm a walking, talking bruise. Can we put that on hold for a night? And before you say, 'Cadee, the Order isn't going to let you take a pause', remember that I can't learn anything if I'm falling asleep while you're trying to teach us," Cadee said, all in one breath.

Chloe nodded her head in agreement with a hopeful smile, "Yeah, I agree. We should break on training tonight. You guys should come hang out at my place instead and we'll do the study thing."

"Chloe, I don't know. My mom wants to make sure you are ready for the summit that's coming up next month. There are going to be a lot of foreign Mai, and you still have a lot to learn about pride matters. And Cadee if you're going to attend, we need to make sure you can handle yourself. Some prides like to challenge one another, and if you are challenged, you must accept. One on one contact and weaponry are the two main events during a summit challenge. If we take tonight off, can you promise to be ready by then?" Jasmine said. She looked concerned, which was not uncommon, but there was a softness in her look that made Cadee think she too wanted a night off.

"We can so be ready by then. Right Cadee?" Chloe promised, nodding and smiling and flicking her eyes between Cadee and Jasmine significantly.

Nodding, Cadee 'huhed' and opened up a bag of apple crisps that Alek promptly pilfered from. "Come on Jasmine, we'll still be working, just studying. You can even help us brush up on our Mai stuff. You're always going on about tradition and history – we'll have a meeting of the minds. Valentina can't put the kibosh on more learning."

"Oh, telling half-truths. How devious. I like," Alek said, leaning back in his chair, a smirk fixed on his face.

Paul and Amy seemed to be having some whispered argument when Cadee glanced at them. Jasmine seemed to be thinking, but Amy had an angry expression on her face that didn't bode well while Paul looked to be pleading with her.

"I guess one night of study will be okay. If we actually study," Jasmine finally said, caving with a warm smile.

"Yes! Score one for the fun Mai," Chloe said, hold up her hand which Cadee promptly high fived.

"Are you saying we aren't fun, King? I'm offended," Alek interjected, taking half of Cadee's sandwich from in front of her. Cadee playfully made a swipe for her food and grinned when Alek took a large bite.

"No, I'm sure you're fun, Alek. You'll just eat Chloe and her mom out of their home," said Cadee. She rolled her eyes back at him when he did so to her, and Cadee laughed when Jasmine kicked him under the table, muttering something about manners.

"Well I'm game," Paul announced, jerking to a stand. Amy looked on with a gaping mouth and Chloe made a face in response.

"I thought you and Amy were going out?" Chloe asked.

"We were, but apparently a meeting of the super people beats going out with your girlfriend. My mistake," Amy said through gritted teeth. She jerked to a stand, grabbed her bag, and stormed out of the cafeteria with a frustrated yell.

Paul scratched his head and looked around the table for support. Cadee shook her head at him.

"I think she wants you to follow her, Paul," Chloe mock-whispered, as if this was of any surprise.

Looking sad, Paul shook his head, "No. It's not fair. Every time I want to do something cool, Amy wants me to take her to dinner, or to the mall, or to the coffeehouse…I wanted to do this. You guys get it right?"

"Sorry, not touching that one," Alek said, crossing his arms over his chest lazily as he indulged in the odds and ends of Cadee's lunch while she picked at it, handing him what she didn't want.

"If you make plans with a girl, you keep them. That simple. It's not like you don't hang with us every day anyway," Cadee stated, raising an eyebrow at Paul. She liked Paul, even though he did tend to hero worship the Mai, and she liked Amy too. But the two of them were an ongoing production of Hormones: the Teen Years.

"What do you think Jasmine? You're a girl," Paul asked, his doe brown eyes taking on the quality of a puppy dog as he turned from the rest of the table.

Jasmine shrugged, "I think you should keep your date if you want to keep your girlfriend."

"Ah, man," Paul said. Sighing, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, "Fine. But you guys better tell me everything that happens."

"We're studying, nothing's going to happen," Cadee assured him.

"Says the girl who got attacked by an assassin in the middle of broad daylight," Paul said, grumbling as he trudged after Amy.

"He can be such a sad sack," Alek commented, leaning forward once more to sling his arm around the back of Cadee's lunch chair.

Slapping his chest lightly, Cadee rolled her eyes, "Paul is sweet. Misguided and living in a comic book half the time, but sweet. Amy's just a lot of personality for Paul."

"Exactly," Chloe agreed.

The bell that tolled the end of lunch rang, and Cadee stood, tossing out her trash as the foursome entered the main hallway.

"So meet up at my place tonight at like six?" Chloe asked, her head half turned toward Cadee as they walked toward the student lobby.

"Sounds good. As long as the Mominator doesn't shoot me down, I'll be there. You going too, Alek?" Cadee asked, turning to him. He walked on the other side of her, close enough to feel his body heat. People waved and shouted out hellos to him, which he responded to in kind – slowly Cadee was coming to accept his kingly status amongst their peers.

Smirking he replied, "I'll pick you up right at the door. I'm your protector, remember? If you're going, so am I."

"Make it sound like a chore, why don't you," Cadee mumbled.

"Spending time with you is definitely not a chore. It's my pleasure," Alek whispered in her ear as they came to a stop at the intersection leading off into various other hallways.

"My mom shouldn't be home till seven so you can actually come to the door," Cadee said, blushing something fierce. Every time he spoke in that suave, British accent, Cadee's claws bit into the skin of her clenched palms.

"Someday, you are going to let me meet your mother," he said, cocky and confident as usual as he walked backward toward his afternoon classes.

"And someday cars will fly," Cadee shouted back, but she couldn't contain the smile that stretched across her face.

"Ooh, somebody likes Alek," Chloe whispered tauntingly a minute later after Alek was out of earshot and Jasmine smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You have the hots for my cousin?" Jasmine asked.

Huffing in embarrassment, Cadee's cheeks burned hotly with a blush, "So. He's attractive, and funny. So what. So okay, maybe. I gotta go to class."

"I knew it!" Chloe exclaimed and people turned to stare.

Mock glowering, Cadee shook her head, "I'll see you guys tonight."

It was 5:56 when Cadee's mom walked through the door of their apartment, and Cadee nearly dropped all of her stuff, including her already packed book bag, when she heard the scratching of the key in the front door lock. As Cadee's mom stepped through, laughing, it was with a man Cadee had never seen before. He had salt-and-pepper hair, a nice smile, and by the cut of his clothes, he had money.

"Oh, hello Cadee. I thought you'd still be at work," Mia said, stopping short of the living room where Cadee had stopped to pet Jade a quick goodbye.

"Um, no, I was off a half hour ago. I was actually going to a study group tonight at Chloe's. If that's okay," Cadee asked. She had hoped to slip out while Daylin and her mom were both at work; she didn't really want to see either one of them right now. Seeing Daylin would be a reminder that he was leaving and seeing her mom…well that had just become stressful lately.

Smoothing her wind ruffled hair, Mia nodded.

"That's fine. Have her mother call me to confirm you arrived and if you are staying for dinner. Cadee, this is Mr. Rezza. Whitley, this is my daughter, Cadee. Daylin's still at work."

Mr. Rezza stepped forward and Cadee heard Jade's distinct hissing and a vicious growl which proceeded her usually loving kitten launching itself at the stranger. Catching Jade mid-air, Cadee shooshed and smoothed her with soft sounds as Mr. Rezza backed away in discomfort, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I'm sorry. Jade is usually so nice. I'll just…put her in my room before I go. It was nice to meet you," Cadee said, hurrying backward with quick steps. Something about this man was off and even if she couldn't place, Jade sensed it too, which was good enough for Cadee.

"A pleasure," Mr. Rezza said, his voice soft and puzzled.

"Make sure that door is closed tight. I do not need that cat attacking guests, Cadee," Mia's voice followed her down the hall, and Cadee fought an exasperated sigh at her mother's pestering. Jade was a sweet kitten, and she knew the difference between good vibes and bad vibes.

The doorbell rang as Cadee was closing the door, Jade purring contently on her bed, and Cadee's heart stopped for a second. Alek. He was supposed to pick her up and now her mom was home early with some guy. Not good, Cadee, not good, she thought, rushing down the hall back into the living room.

"A pleasure to meet you properly, Ms. Fallin. I'm sorry for our first encounter, you have a very captivating daughter," Alek said smoothly. He stood in the entryway, shaking hands with Mr. Rezza and her mother, and Cadee caught him smiling charmingly. That smile was so slick an oil spill would be jealous, Cadee thought.

"Yes, well. You make a much better second impression. Are you also going to the study group at Chloe's?" her mother rejoined. More than likely, the only reason Mia Fallin wasn't threatening to lock Cadee in her room and kick Alek out on the stoop was because she had a guest. Mia Fallin is nothing, if not a good hostess.

"Yes. Meeting of the minds and all that. But don't worry, I'll have Cadee home by curfew," Alek reassured and Cadee made her to his side.

"Well, as long as I hear from Chloe's mom that'll be fine. Enjoy hanging out with your friends, Cadee," her mom said, and Cadee leaned in to receive the kiss on her cheek coming her way. And the Oscar for best performance as loving mother goes to, Cadee thought sarcastically.

"Night mom. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Rezza."

"You too, Cadee. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Don't work too hard," he responded and Cadee nodded, allowing Alek to place his hand at the small of her back and lead her away, warding off the creeps that Mr. Rezza left behind.

Once they were in the car, Alek waved jovially to her mother and Mr. Rezza who stood in the doorway as they pulled away from the curb.

"Do not trust that man, Cadee. He's dangerous, a part of the Order. If he is at your house, he knows who you are. I'll have to be more careful," Alek warned, his expression dark and lethal.

"Mr. Rezza? He gave the creeps and Jade went to attack him. That makes sense. What are we going to do? I don't want that guy dating my mom. She might drive me nuts, but she's my mom," Cadee said, half turning in her seat to face him. They were in some sexy sports car, but all Cadee could think about was that guy and her mom alone in their apartment.

"He's not going to do anything yet. He's after you and he knows about me now, he'll have to be extra careful. You're mother will be fine for tonight," Alek stated. "And at least got to meet your mum." Cadee wanted to wipe the smugness right off his face and out of his tone of voice.

"She wasn't supposed to be home this early. And now that guy knows where we're going," Cadee worried. "And do you know how many safe sex brochures are going to cover my end table when I get home?"

Alek smirked, "At least you'll be informed. And don't worry about him knowing where we are going. Chloe's house is one of the most guarded in the city. Plus, you have me."

They pulled up to Chloe's house and Cadee found herself envious. They had a nice, cute house in a good neighborhood and everything. It reminded Cadee of what her life was like before he dad left.

Not one to dwell, Cadee allowed Alek to open her door – mostly because he beat her to it – and made their way up to the front porch. When they rang the bell, Alek looped his arm around her shoulders and oddly enough, Cadee couldn't make herself brush him off. It was nice to feel his warm, tingling touch. It made her feel safe.

Opening the door was a pretty, short brunette with a small mouth and beautiful smile. Her eyes were large like Chloe's, but that was pretty much where the resemblance ended. The friendly smile reminded her of Chloe and Cadee returned it.

"You must be Cadee! I'm so excited to meet you. Chloe and Amy talk about you all the time lately. I'm Meredith, her mother, and it is just so great to have you over. Alek, nice to see you. You guys hungry? I bought pizza. And don't worry, one of them is vegetarian," Meredith said, pulling them inside where Jasmine and Chloe were already sitting down eating.

"That was really thoughtful of you," Cadee said. She had never been so liked by a parent before, and Cadee couldn't help but beam as she was served up a couple of slices of vegetarian pizza.

"Not at all. I'm just so glad you could come over. I have to go out tonight, but you kids are welcome to stay and relax. Just make sure little Miss Chloe gets caught up on her Bio," Meredith said, collecting her briefcase and a fashionable pocketbook.

"Do you think you could call my mom first? She wanted to talk with you," Cadee said, taking the seat Alek pulled out from the table for her.

"Sure. Just give me her number and I'll call her on my way out," Chloe's mom said. She came over and kissed Chloe on the head as Cadee scribbled her mother's number on a piece of notebook paper and handed it over. "You kids be good. Chloe, I'll be home at ten. Love you"

"Implied. Night Mom." Chloe shouted as Meredith bustled out the door and it closed with an accidental boom.

"She seemed nice," Cadee said, munching down as Alek joined them at the table with a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Chloe's mom is great," Jasmine agreed. That was high praised from Jasmine and Chloe smiled pleased.

"Yeah, she's awesome. The first few months she was kind of crazy, thought I was doing drugs, but she's used to the new me now. I'm sure your mom will come around. Look, she already let you out and off house arrest for the night," Chloe consoled.

Shrugging, Cadee shook her head, "Not really. Alek showed up and whisked me away while she had company. She didn't really have a choice. She wouldn't want to look bad in front of other people."

"What company?" Jasmine inquired.

"You're going to love this. Whitley Rezza," Alek cut in, dropping his food on his plate with a slap.

"What? Brian's dad? I thought after…I thought he left," Chloe said, her whole expression changing.

"Brian?" Cadee asked.

Chloe sighed and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "He was this human guy I liked. We sort of dated and when I died a few months ago, he kissed me and ended up in a coma. I thought that after that, his dad left. I thought Valentina watched him go?"

"Wait, you dated a human?" Cadee asked. Her mind jumped to Vince and what Alek had said to her. It was all making a lot of sense, terrifying sense.

"Yeah, and it didn't work out. Obviously. I didn't know that Brian's dad worked for the Order and neither did he. I think he really loved me," Chloe said and Cadee saw the tears swimming in her eyes.

"Rezza did leave. My mom watched him go. If he's back, that means the Order is up to old tricks and he's still a part of it. You have to be even more careful now than before, Cadee. He's killed Mai before and you are important, just like Chloe. I have to call my mom," Jasmine said, getting up from the table to pace to the far side of the room.

The lights suddenly went out just as Cadee heard Jasmine say "Mom" and the sound of shattering glass broke the silence.

"Someone's in the house," Chloe exclaimed and Cadee clamped a hand over her mouth, pulling her from her seat to beneath the table. Their sight adjusted and Cadee turned to Alek in confusion. He was in a crouched fighting stance and Jasmine had rejoined them after whispering out a message to her mom and snapping her phone shut.

"I thought you said it was safe here." Cadee whispered.

"Obviously, so did I," Alek said, his tone gentle as he and Jasmine silently communicated and began moving around the lower floor toward the back door.

"We need to get out of here," Cadee whispered to Chloe who nodded. "Follow me."

Hands low and outstretched, Cadee moved toward the back door she had seen earlier, her body quiet and swift. They reached the sofa and the window by the back door when suddenly the glass shattered inward and three daggers flew end over end passed Cadee's head. They embedded in the wall beside a stealthily moving Alek and he froze for a millisecond before ripping them out of the plaster, and sending them back the way they had come.

"Get over here," Alek murmured and Chloe ran full tilt toward where he and Jasmine crouched.

It was as she was running that Cadee saw it. A bright red dot focused on Chloe's moving figure and before she had the time to think how stupid her idea was, Cadee lunged toward Chloe, over the sofa, and the momentum of her hitting Chloe sent them both into a full sprawl beside Jasmine and in front of Alek. They heard the gunshot and it wasn't until Cadee tried to sit up that she felt it. She's been hit. A bullet had burrowed into her left inner-thigh and she was bleeding like a stuck pig. She hissed out a breath and bit down hard on her arm to stop from screaming in agony.

"Oh my God, Cadee," Chloe exclaimed and it was in that moment Jasmine leap up the stairs and drop kicked an incoming assassin.

"Cadee? Cadee? Come on, look at me," Alek whispered urgently, his body shielding hers, and Cadee forced her blurring vision to focus on him. It felt like fire was consuming her thigh and smelting her bones, but the sound of his voice cooled her a bit.

"It hurts. Help. Please, Alek," Cadee whimpered and she started to hyperventilate as Jasmine returned and the lights came on.

"The Mai have surrounded the residence and the Order have pulled back. Oh God, Cadee," Jasmine shouted the last and she too was kneeling at her side in the next moment.

"I'm…I…Alek, it hurts. I can't…it won't stop," Cadee shouted, finally free to scream in pain.

Dark figures descended upon the room and in the mayhem of it all, Cadee saw her first glimpse at the Mai as a collective. At least twelve of them entered Chloe's house through the shattered glass door, and Valentina appeared at the lead. She dropped down at Cadee's side and examined her thigh, pressing her claws painfully into the wound, and extracting them with the smashed bullet.

"Cadee, you need to stay with us. We're getting your medical assistance now. Can you hear me?" Valentina said in her ever cool tone, though the wildness in her eyes betrayed her.

Nodding and in tears, Cadee clutched at Alek's arm while Chloe cried and Jasmine held her head in her lap. "It hurts." Cadee said between pants, her breathing fluctuating.

"I know. Just, try to stay calm," Valentina suggested, but her eyes squinted in anger and she barked out orders about cleaning up the King residence and doing a sweep of the area.

"It's going to be okay, Cadee," Alek promised and she felt his cool lips brush her forehead. She closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them, his face was above hers. His pretty eyes staring into her own, the rest of his face set in stone.

"Promise?" Cadee said, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating.

"I promise." Alek said and that was the last thing Cadee heard before she slipped into the dark.

_**Author's Note:**_ Well I know it took me forever to update, but I hope you enjoyed it. Midterms are coming up and I'm sick, so I really didn't think I'd get this out even though I've been working on it for over a week on and off. I want to thank everyone who reviewed and I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter. Let me know what you think. EK!


End file.
